Ancient Hidden Secrets to Relationships

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Relationship Wisdom

Relationship advice is all around us: inspiration quotes and photos are constantly in the media, advice from friends and family is just a phone call away, and bookstores feature multiple shelves in the Love & Romance section.

However, the best relationship advice may be the words of wisdom that have withstood the test of time. The following list represents general relationship advice that is still relevant because it works (most of the time):

Express your love for each other every chance you get.
Try to not go to bed angry.
Don’t forget to kiss each other goodbye.
Inner beauty is more important than appearance.
Honesty is always the best policy.
Saying “sorry” is not a sign of weakness.
Don’t speak badly of each other in front of others… ever.
Treat each other like you want to be treated.

Advice from Long-Term Couples

For the most part, every person in a marriage desires to be with his or her spouse for the rest of his or her life. Therefore, the advice of elderly long-married couples is particularly valuable. As a person approaches his or her golden years, maintaining a romantic relationship with the same person over the decades is worth bragging about.

The Today Show, GodVine, and MyMatchmaker independently interviewed elderly couples who had been together for a very long time. The long-term couples shared the following advice:

Take a vacation every year, no matter how small, without your children.
Keep your faith in God.
Be a hard worker and a good provider.
Marriage is not a contest so don’t keep score.
Physical fighting is never acceptable, not even once.
You are individuals, but will accomplish more together.
Give yourself a break when you need one.
Do your own thing.
Forgive each other often.

Modern Relationship Guidance

As times change so do the needs of our relationships with each other. While much age-old relationship advice holds true in the 21^st century, some of it might need to be tweaked. Advances in technology, marriage equality laws and shifting values can make certain aspects of a relationship more or less important over time.

The BuzzFeed Community and Aziz Ansari, author of Modern Romance, share their modern relationship advice:

Admit when you’re wrong, and don’t brag when you’re right.
Maintain separate checking accounts (read more about separate vs. joint checking accounts)
Choose your in-laws wisely.
Always kiss after an argument.
Always remember the relationship’s beginning.
Stop sending lame texts.
The more time you spend together, the deeper your bond.
Don’t be so quick to move on – it’s okay to linger.
In-person visits and phone calls always trump text messages and email.

If you closely examine the relationship advice in all three sections above you will see a theme – respect. Respect is an act of love for another person. The most important thing to keep your love alive is to maintain respect for each other and to continue to grow the relationship.