The next best thing to preventing conflict is having the skills to manage differences effectively. Most of us don't come into marriage with highly developed conflict-management skills, but these abilities can be cultivated through practice on the job.

Feeling fully seen, accepted, valued and cherished are really wonderful experiences, and these feelings can generate the kind of safety that leads to intimacy, spontaneity and aliveness in the relationship and in the bedroom.

Ultimately, you chose your partner for a reason. You have a soul-level connection that can transcend any differences. Hold strong to that fact and you'll soon find that smarts and social can indeed go hand-in-hand in any relationship.

Much like an investment that you put money into for the long term, so is the relationship. Is the value of an investment measured by what the investme...

Though its initial spark might be as simple as lighting a match, maintaining a relationship is a complex endeavor requiring effort and attention. Using a bow, string and spindle stick to make fire is not easy, and neither is keeping a relationship alive.

In his book Play, psychiatrist Stewart Brown says that play is key to keeping relationships from hardening into drudgery. But once you're coupled up and having regular discussions about who did the dishes last, play may not come as easily.

Relationships and all their pitfalls are still the most important and life-changing circumstances that define our life. When it is all said and done, it is the only really meaningful markers we have to remember our lives.