5 Promises we Should Make to our Future Spouse

In today's society where marriage is slowly losing its salt, making a pledge of commitment to your significant other is the first steps towards leaving what is perceived as marriage 'norms' behind.
‘Until death do us part’ has become ‘until I get bored of you,’ or ‘until times get rough and the society including the media has greatly contributed to this marriage rut, and divorce rates are soaring higher every year.
The question becomes, what can you do towards making your marriage work and what do we promise for the future?
Below is a list of promises you can make to your significant other:“I promise to stick by you through tough times.”: I’m starting off with an important one. I have said it before and I’ll say it again – anyone can stand by your side during the sunny days. The real test of character is whether or not they will hold the umbrella over you during the stormy days. When making a lifelong commitment to someone, you are committing to being there for them “in sickness and in health.” Sickness – may not be a common cold. It may be a large, life-altering challenge. It may be the sickness of a family member. Maybe, your own sickness. It may not necessarily be a literal health challenge, but perhaps a rough patch in life that tests your commitment and love. You are not pledging to be a fair weather spouse and only be there when times are good. You are pledging to be there – always.

“I promise will never let you forget how much I love you.”: As an extension of the previous point, sometimes life gets crazy and we lose sight of things by accident. One of these things can easily be letting our significant other know how much he or she means to us, daily. One of the biggest problems in long term relationships is lack of gratitude. When someone feels taken for granted it can easily breed resentment and a whole slew of other problems that will eat away at your foundation. You’ll know you’ve found the right partner when they keep showing you how much you mean to them, long after they’ve already committed to you.

“I promise to keep things exciting.”: A step beyond consistently reminding someone you love them is literally taking action to keep the spark alive. Spontaneous candle-lit dinners. A bath running when they get home from work. A weekend getaway for no reason. When we start a fire, we cannot walk out of the room and expect it to keep burning forever. We need to continue to add logs to it and to stoke it. If we keep doing that, it will never go out. The problems arise when we stop giving it the attention it requires in order to continue burning. Always keep stoking your fire.

“I promise I will accept and love you fully.”: We all have flaws. We all have insecurities. We all have things we want to change about ourselves. We cannot expect to like every single little thing about our spouse, but what we need to do is promise that we accept all of their traits, and love them to their very core, just the same.

“I promise I will not let myself go.”: Is this a contradiction to the previous point? I think not. There is an important distinction to be made between someone who reaches old age and someone who figures “hey, I’m married now, I can stop trying.” Of course bodies and appearance change as we age, but the point here is to not become a giant lump on the couch just because you’ve gotten yourself a husband or wife. It is important we continue to live a healthy lifestyle. To eat right. To take care of the only body we have in this life. To show the man or woman you love that you will still put in effort for them and not become too comfortable. Just because you are in a long term, committed relationship, does not mean that your partner deserves a lesser version of you.