By Emily Murray
In the face of an ever rising divorce rate, learning the keys to making your relationship go the distance gives you that extra leg up on beating the odds. However, if you have been abiding by the old “communication is key” adage, you may be missing out on a few other points that could strengthen your relationship.
Of course communication is very important for conflict resolution not just in your relationship with your partner but in the workplace, in friendships and nearly any other area of your life where interaction with others occurs. But what about those couples who seem to communicate well and still can’t seem to last?
An Internet-based study recently set out to find where each of the seven skills believed to hold a relationship together rank in order of importance.
As reported in the past, the 7 relationship skills are believed to be as follows (not in order of importance):
1. Communication
2. Conflict Resolution
3. Sex/Romance
4. Stress Management
5. Life Skills
6. Knowledge of Partner
7. Self Management
Study participants were asked how competent they were in each of these seven categories. The couples who reported communication, had the most satisfaction on average in their relationships which is in line with what most of us already know.
The next area however may provide some insight for many couples. Only 2 of the remaining categories showed an influence on happiness – knowledge of partner and life skills.
Getting to know more about the one you love is not only enjoyable but also helps boost overall contentment and happiness in a relationship. This can mean learning the important things or even simply learning what your partner likes in his/her coffee. It doesn’t seem to matter how significant what you learn is, it’s the skill of really knowing your partner that makes a difference.
As far as life skills are concerned, this area is likely associated with happiness since having the ability to cope with what life throws your way makes things much smoother. Having a handle on finances for example makes fighting over money less likely.
For more information on the study, see the article on TIME.com.