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- Warren Buffett has famously said that picking the right spouse is the best decision you can make for your career.
- Researchers agree, and say that having the right partner can increase your annual salary by approximately $4,000.
- To make your marriage happy for the long haul, get plenty of sleep, learn to fight fairly, show small acts of kindness, and exercise together.
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Warren Buffett may know more about smart investing than any other human on the planet, but he outdid himself when he openly shared what he calls the biggest decision of his life: marriage. Well, not just marriage, but picking the right person to marry. As the billionaire told his shareholders at a 2009 Berkshire annual meeting:
"Marry the right person. I'm serious about that. It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things."
Even research agrees that having the right life partner matters — to the point of increasing a partner's own salary, regardless of gender, by approximately $4,000 more per year.
While Buffett's own marriage arrangement has been called "unconventional," one thing every marriage must become for partners to reap the benefits is sustainable.
7 things to do to make your marriage last
I've been married 10 years now and I can say with confidence that it takes a lot of hard work and commitment. To truly make it an effective partnership, both parties must have a desire to grow — grow as individuals and grow in the relationship.
Here are seven ways you can keep your marriage happy over the long haul.
1. Seek objectivity during a conflict
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In social psychology professor Eli Finkel's new book, The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work, he offers a number of crisis-avoiding strategies, including objectivity. He says partners should get perspective from a third party who sees things from the "outside." Bringing that objectivity helps to simmer down escalating arguments.
2. Get enough sleep
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In The Happy Couple, author Barton Goldsmith cites a study from the University of California, Berkeley, that looked at the sleep habits of more than 100 couples. Couples who reported poor sleep were much more likely to argue with each other.
3. Show small acts of kindness
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Something as simple as a shoulder rub after an exhausting day of work or making a cup of coffee for your partner before he or she wakes up is a relationship booster. Terri Orbuch, a marriage researcher and author of 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage From Good to Great, studied 373 couples for more than 28 years and found that frequent small acts of kindness are a predictor of happiness in a relationship.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider