What are the four pillars of marriage in Bahawalpur
We all know
that a marriage without trust is like a car without gas, it just won’t
run. Knowing how to regain trust and even better yet, maintain it in the
first place is essential to creating a thriving marriage relationship.
But did you
ever consider that there are different kinds of trust and we need all 4 of them
to make our relationship work?
This great
article on Your Tango talks about the different kinds of trust your
marriage needs and was the inspiration for this week’s post.
Even though we
are all familiar with wedding vows, to love honor and cherish, there are promises that we might never say out
loud that are the foundation for a marriage to last and, more importantly,
be happy.
Safety, Faithfulness, Commitment and
Reliability are 4 pillars of trust every marriage needs.
If any one of these is missing, the roof starts caving in and the
relationship starts to deteriorate.
Here is why
they are so important:
Safety
Marriages thrive when both partners feel
safe and secure.
You have to
trust that your partner isn’t going to hurt you, to be able to reach out to
them when you need help, to be vulnerable and share your life
with them as well as your hopes and dreams.
Whether it’s
physical or verbal – any kind of rejection chips away at trust.
One form of
rejection that you may not be aware of, is the all too common “nagging.” If you
nag, you are saying, “I don’t trust you will do your part.”
A loving
reminder is okay. “Nagging” is a sign that there is a trust issue that hasn’t
been addressed and a deeper conversation is called for. The next time you hear it or feel tempted to do
it – pause and ask, “What is really needed here?”
That goes two
ways – we also have to keep our commitments once we make them. More on
reliability later in this post.
Faithfulness
Another kind
of trust that marriages need is faithfulness. That goes without saying right?
Without sexual
fidelity we just can’t develop any of the other types of trust.
Physical
fidelity and emotional fidelity go hand in hand, so sharing your secrets with
your spouse is actually a way to build emotional faithfulness in your marriage.
Marriage
researcher John Gottman says, “Trust
is built in very small moments in which one person turns toward their
partner when they’re in need. When our partner responds positively, by “being
there” for us, that builds trust.”
Once we are
“there” for each other over and over again, we can also begin to trust each
other in the face of anger or upset.
Going back to
that feeling of safety – we all want to know that person will be there even
when something is going wrong.
Having a
ground rule that says, “its okay to be angry, I am not going anywhere,” is a
very important building block to trust and like emotional cement in your
relationship.
Commitment
It’s also
critical that both partners declare their marriage as a top priority both in spending
time together and in carrying out the commitments of daily life.
First, by
investing time in your relationship, that shows the other person they matter to
you. You are putting them above other things. It also helps build trust because
you are creating evidence that you are reliable, that you can be counted on and
trusted. The ability to rely on each other as a team is essential to sustain
trust over time.
Reliability
As you can
see, each pillar builds and supports the other. Reliability is the glue that
holds all the pillars together as – trusting you will do what you say you will
do is essential for safety, faithfulness and commitment.
Knowing the
ingredients of what creates trust can also help you see if there is an area in
your marriage where you are not feeling or expressing trust. This way you can
re-build that pillar before it
breaks down.
One of the
best things you can do in your marriage to build trust is create moments of
safety, emotional safety where your partner feels like they can connect with
you and demonstrate vulnerability and still be heard and love.
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