tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461323.post113021204572252072..comments2023-08-26T02:45:40.395-07:00Comments on First Timers: Marriage Educationbrataloidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12821089132580236438noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461323.post-1130269295984147512005-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:002005-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:00Bravo Nat, It seems like a lot of work the whole m...Bravo Nat, It seems like a lot of work the whole marriage thing. I think that is a huge part, no one can expect it to be easy. If both partners expect it to be hard work but fulfilling at the end of the day than it can be a success. As I learned from "Around the World in Eighty Dates" the author compared relationships to careers. No one expects to find their perfect career and as soon as they land the dream job it is easy street from there on out. Instead when one lands that dream job you know your real work has only just begun. You know you have to take your effort and work ethic up to a whole new level in order to prove yourself and actually succeed at your career. However you also know that your future earnings and rewards will grow along with the work load. Humans and especially Americans are incentive based. We have to have an incentive to work harder at whatever career we choose. Whether that be money, power, or prestige this incentive is what drives us to succeed in our careers. <BR/><BR/>Why should marriage be any different? Once one finds that person that you want to be with "forever" the work has only just begun. Much like a career though there are incentives to working hard so that your marriage is successful. In theory the incentives to marry are: growing to know each other better and share a home, children and a whole life. These are in contrast to career incentives like money, power or prestige. However home, family and life are so much more important than money, power and prestige when it comes to acheiving life happiness. If we look on our careers with such realism than we should also look on our marriages with the same level of realism and understand that because of the importance of home, family and life in achieving happiness our determination to work hard on one's marriage should even surpass our determination to achieve career rewards. At least that's my theory, maybe I will re visit this topic after I have been married for five or ten years as then it wont as theoretical :)Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00120948726785029763noreply@blogger.com