From the Book, Lucky In Love by Catherine Johnson:
1. Happy couples felt at home with each other from the start. Most of the couples felt a rapport almost immediately. Sometimes it was shared values, physical attraction, or emotional connection. The rapport includes a delicate balance of friendship, which is based in sameness, and passion, which is based in difference.
2. Happy couples share routines and dreams. Routines in and of themselves do not produce happiness, but they instill confidence and trust in the natural existence of the marriage. Working together to make a dream come true makes a couple glow.
3. Happy couples don’t hold a grudge. When a conflict arises, they become angry, storm about–and then move on.
4. Happy couples look for the best. Couples thrive when spouses focus on what is good and true in the other. Positive expectations exert a tremendous force.
5. Happy couples learn to change. Most couples said they had changed a great deal throughout their marriages. A surprisingly large number of the very happy couples had experienced a crisis in their relationship. The marriages survived – and flourished – because one or both partners changed whatever it was about himself or herself that was causing conflict in the relationship.
6. Happy couples understand the importance of sex. There is often a strong and vibrant sexuality.
7. Happy couples do not struggle for the upper hand. Regardless of the contributions made, the efforts of each were viewed as equally important within the household. Without exception, every happy couple reported that the money was theirs not his or hers.
8. Happy couples usually describe their mate as their best friend. These husbands and wives simply liked each other above all others.
