Reliability is not seen as an attractive quality in a spouse. People assume that being married to a reliable, careful and put-together partner makes for a boring and lackluster married life.  However, this isn’t true.

Reliability and conscientiousness makes for a happy marriage and life in general. In fact, research has shown that people who have reliable spouses do better in their careers.

What does it mean to be reliable?

A reliable person is one who is trustworthy enough to honor his/her words and do what is expected of them. The best way to evaluate how reliable and dependable you are as a partner is to ask yourself how much you value your word?  Do you do your best to keep your promises and not break your word? If you do break your word, do you try to make up for it or do you just assume it’s not a big deal?

Reliability and Trust

The reason why reliability is so important in marriage is because it builds trust. Reliable people are consistent and you can always trust them to do what they say or what you ask them to.

For a marriage to flourish, both spouses have to be secure in the fact that their spouse isn’t going to pull the rug out from under their feet. This allows them to be open and vulnerable with each other and ask for help when they need it.

It also frees up a lot of time and energy because they’re not running around doing damage control. They’re also not carrying a heavy load of hurt and resentment from all the times that they’ve been let down.

How to be more reliable

Keeping your word is the most important part of reliability. However, to be able to do that, you have to make sure that you only make promises that you can keep. Don’t overpromise and you will have no problem keeping your word.

In addition to not making promises that you can’t keep, you need manage your spouse’s expectations. If you feel like your spouse’s expectations are unrealistic, have a conversation with them and come up with more realistic expectations together.

Lastly, do not let circumstances dictate your behavior. You should base your behavior on your values and faith and not the circumstances in your married life. Try to remain consistent even in unfavorable situations.

Reliability may not be an exciting trait but it is one of the traits that make a good wife or a good husband. The security and trust that comes with reliability lays the foundation for a happy marriage.