Marriage is just as much about the little things as it is about big things. The small everyday moments of love and support are just as essential to a happy marriage as big things like communication, faithfulness, honesty and trust. In fact, it’s the little things that make everyday married life enjoyable.

Meaningful touches

Touching is one of the best ways to create an emotional bond and build intimacy with your spouse. You should aim to share about 10 meaningful touches every day. Meaningful touching does not only refer to sexual touching; it also includes things like handholding, hugging, gentle patting and sitting close together on the couch.

Sincere compliments

A sincere compliment is one of the best gifts that you can give your wife or husband. It boosts their self esteem, makes them feel appreciated and brings you closer together. However, flattery doesn’t have the same effect. Instead of making your partner feel good, it makes them feel manipulated.

Selfless acts

Sometimes saying “I love you” is just not enough. You have to back those words up with some actions, such as doing whatever you can to make your spouse’s day easier – even if it is not convenient or enjoyable for you.

Selfless acts are a great way to show love and increase the ratio of positive experiences over negative ones. This is important because studies show that you need five positive experiences for every negative one in order to have a happy married life.

Couples rituals

As a couple, you should have some rituals that are just about the two of you. They have to be things that you do quite often like having breakfast together every morning or having a cup of hot chocolate together before bedtime.  These rituals help to strengthen your emotional bond with your spouse and make you feel more like a team.

Humor

A marriage needs humor to survive. It is impossible to be happy with someone whom you can’t laugh with. Also, humor really comes in handy when you are going through tough times.

You and your partner should laugh together at least once a day. So if something funny happens at work or you see something funny on the internet, don’t keep it all to yourself. Share it with your partner.

Married life can be quite dull if you only focus on the serious stuff. These marriage tips can help you focus on the little, enjoyable things as well.