24 lessons from 24 years of married life
Shweta & I recently celebrated our 24th marriage anniversary.
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Though marriage anniversaries are personal landmarks, there are learnings that I had over the years that were also useful to me in my corporate life. 4 years back I had written about my 20 learnings from 20 years of married life.
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It’s time for an update.
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Here are my 24 learnings from 24 years of marital bliss (in alphabetical order)
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Accept & Adjust– Be flexible
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Breaks - Take breaks and travel to relax & recharge
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Crisis can be good – It gets the family closer, together ( 2021 was a year of COVID19 crisis for me but it also brought us all closer)
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Dignity – Whatever happens, do your best to respect & maintain dignity in the relationship.
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Energy & enthusiasm – Keep the “Josh” high; try to be the Chief Enthusiasm Officer (CEO)
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Fights - Disagreements & debates will happen; learn from them, apologise if needed, forget & forgive, and move on asap…
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Gratitude & the art of giving - Be grateful for what you have and still aspire for more. Give more than what you get to in the relationships. Also give genuine compliments, regularly
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Hard work - You need to work hard, every single day, to just retain status quo on quality of your relationship. Work harder in case you want to further improve it.
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I, me myself –Cut the I & ME out and always think WE. Try and keep your ego buried far away
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Joy & celebration - Celebrate small successes & small wins; try & get joy out of daily events
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Keep listening - Talk less, listen more. Being a good listener gives your partner more comfort and helps strengthen the relationship
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Laugh more - Don’t take life too seriously and learn to smile & also laugh (even at yourself)
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Memories – Invest in creating good experiences, which later become great memories
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No Lies please - Never lie to your spouse. But there is no need to tell them everything 😊
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Original & authentic – Don’t try to copy others, even if they seem to be more successful & happier. Be authentic; be original; be yourself.
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Planning & setting goals – Set goals & review performance; always have a plan e.g., planning for retirement (investments), contingencies (emergency fund) & unforeseen mishaps (buy insurance)
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Quality over quantity - Less is more but quality is important e.g. It’s critical to spend quality time with people who matter the most to you.
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Respect elders - Experience is invaluable & irreplaceable. Senior & elders deserve your respect & you can learn so much from them
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Seeking Feedback - Seek feedback wholeheartedly but give it carefully
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Teamwork - 2 + 2 = 5 is true. Collaboration & teamwork helps achieve much more; both at home & @ work.
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Ups & Downs – Good & bad times are a part of life; this too shall pass
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Vitamin P – P for positivity. It’s critical that we focus more on the plusses of our partner over the faults. It’s the simple “Glass Half Full philosophy”
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Well-being & Health – Good Health is the indeed the true Wealth. Healthy couples are happy couples
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X-Factor – Be unpredictable at times; do unplanned things; surprise your partner & make your life interesting all the time.
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Y – coming next year
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Z – coming in 2026
At the end of it all, what we achieve, will be based on how we play the cards dealt to us by fate, in this exciting game, called LIFE…