"What do I do?": Marriage/Relationship Crisis

I will tell you straight up - there is no couple in this world that have been together for a long time without meeting any form of challenges on their way. Even the most compatible,ideal matches do argue and  at some point they find themselves facing very tough times.
Crises are super painful.
They make us doubt. Wander. Overthink. Sometimes we feel like leaving. Or should I stay? Is he the right partner for me? Why do I suffer this much then? What if I have made a mistake? What is right? Who is wrong?

Madness and headache.
Vulnerable mind is a devil's playground. And devil is a very creative mofo. Indeed.

If you suffer from heartache,wanders,if you feel like your relationship or marriage is about to fall apart,I want you to continue reading.

Is there really a problem?

First of all,we do blow things out of the proportions by attaching meanings to not so relevant things. I think you know what I mean. That is what happens when we are emotionally involved with someone. We take everything personal and our fears and worries can make us see all the things we don't want to see just because we hold on to them so badly. From my very personal experience I can tell you that you don't have a problem that you think you have. At least not a rational one. In emotional relationships by taking everything way too personal we create false beliefs that turn reality because we feed them with so much strength,energy and focus.

Then your relationship sinks deeper and deeper into confusion,mess,accusations,blame,anger,frustration,pain and helplessness. Why? Because our focus is constantly on  the wrong picture and wrong idea of having a "bad relationship/marriage". What we focus on grows.

We are all different and every couple has a different challenge,a very specific tough path that was given to them for a reason.

I think I heard somewhere "Test before testimony"

All my life I used to think,like most of you,that crises in relationships are bad thing. Just recently,I have changed my perception towards it,because I realized that no bond was ever build within a comfort zone.

• Love.
• Friendship.
• Trust.
• Care.
• Understanding.
• Support.
• Faith.
• Loyalty.

Non of these categories really manifests during good times. When things are smooth and everything happens the way you want it it's easy to believe,to love,understand,trust or be a support system to someone. Under right circumstances almost everyone can it for you. To know each and every of this categories that make every healthy relationship meaningful you have to pass though unusual something.

When things are really bad our task is to overcome it.
Mostly,people are busy looking for flaws,blame and mistakes in each other and that is what makes couples sink deeper in painful confusion,darkness and crises. I'm sure some of you know how draining this is. It can exhaust you until you literally go crazy and forget everything good about your relationship and your partner.

Ask yourself: do you want this relationship to work?
NO?
Good and fine,you can leave and that is also very ok .
But you are still there.That means you want it to work.You want to be happy with our partner.
Since you choose to stay involved,you will have to start acting according your choice, otherwise you will really run mad.

In order to heal,you must start from yourself.
You must take responsibility over your own part. Not 60%. Not 89%,but 100%.
Tough times are sign that it's about the time for us to turn to ourselves,and not to point fingers and count our partner's sins and mistakes on loud.
Energy is contagious. Positive and Negative.
Once you start thinking of how your partner feels instead of always considering how much of a victim you are,you will by default trig the same kind of behavior from your partner.

Note to yourself: the biggest mistake people make when they start practicing this method is their instant expectation of what will their partner do for them in return and how fast will their efforts be acknowledged. Don't do that. That means you are bringing yourself into picture again.  You don't love someone by expecting love in return. A true action of love does not have self  interest in it.
Do not just wait to receive love so you can give it.

Start the process of exchanging good energy and positive vibrations yourself.

Every crises you overcome will build your relationship stronger.
Challenges given to you are meant to strengthen the weakest links of your relationship with your loved one.
This thinking is what cures my pain instantly every time I face issues in my marriage.When I just think of it as a process that will make us love each other more and deeper,my vibration instantly changes and different attitude and perception brings new dimensions and different circumstances.

What excites me is to know that the roughest paths normally leads to the most amazing places.

DIVORCE MATTER: Fix it VS Run Away (Should I Stay Or Should I Go?)

Young,old,married or single: I always hear people complaining how marriages do not really last  nowadays. People get married today then they get divorced tomorrow and it's still a taboo,especially from where we are coming from where masses strongly believe that marriage is forever by all means.

I have a couple of friends that have been through this experience,however they mostly get judged for not being mature enough to handle marriage matter the way "they should" and when they point at reasons why they finally decided to go through an extremely stressful process of getting a divorce,this is what they normally get to hear: " Abeg,you knew about all this his features before you married him,so why are you divorcing now?Save your marriage jor". 

But people don't really know that different perspectives,emotions and expectations you have before you get married can make you overlook certain things and secondly we don't know what we can or cannot deal with in huge doses unless we feel it on our skin frequently .

In most of the societies I am familiar with ,there is a strong belief that woman is the one who's job is to keep the marriage. By that,we mostly expect a woman to learn how to stomach and tolerate everything she does not like or she does not agree with for the sake of avoiding drama and arguments. So when marriage falls apart it's normally a woman to be blamed because she was not "strong" or a woman enough to keep it all in place.

One of the reasons why rate of divorce has increased it surely because women got emancipated and more independent (financially) knowing that she does not really need to tolerate everything and anything because her husband is feeding her and her children. Ladies of nowadays are more aware of their rights and worth and I personally think it is absolutely ok not to settle for being mistreated.
But sometimes people also do divorce when they don't know how to find a right approach to the issues they have by focusing so much on it to the point everything positive and good about their relationship fades away and problem is all they see.

What people mostly do not know is that marriage is not a final destination,but a beginning of a whole new chapter that brings a million and one challenge we can't possibly be prepared for.  Leave them empty talks and lectures: No one is ever prepared for something they have never experienced before.We learn things as they come,mostly from our mistakes and that's the catch.

No marriage between two human beings was ever a smooth journey,whether we are crazily in love or we are in it for the sake of a personal interest,but that also does not mean you will call for a divorce after every single argument,right?

Honestly saying, tough times are not even a bad thing because passing through it is what builds a bond between partners and creates a deep strong connection and friendship between two people because no relationship grows within a comfort zone. Trust me.

But there is something you need to know,no matter what are you going through:

Things can be worked out only when there is an effort,compromise,understanding and tolerance that comes from both sides : it must be MUTUAL!

Secondly,I can not tell you what you should tolerate or not,because we all have a different understanding of what suppose to be "normal" or not so normal,but I can share my opinion of what I think LOVE IS NOT and help you do a calculation when it comes to your relationship and choices you are about to make: 

1. Why would your partner stop you from achieving your dreams and life goals? 

Most of the times,when woman is not allowed to focus on her career or use her potentials outside of the house,is because her partner is  insecure about himself and that  has nothing to do with love. Stopping someone from growth is nothing more but an act of selfishness. He is afraid you would over shine him,make him feel less of a man by becoming more successful then he is or get a chance to meet people (men) that might be out of his league.

2. Who has a right to disrespects you and make you feel bad ?

The person you are with should encourage you,motivate you and make you feel like the most special human being in the world not to destroy your self confidence or make you feel useless by always rubbing your flaws in your face. Again,this is also an act of insecurity : some people have a need to constantly bring their partners down so they can feel better in their skin because they suffer from a self esteem issues.

3. Physical  or mental abuse :

How can this ever be an act of love? Love is really not wicked! And how can anyone come and tell you to put your marriage first if your life might be in danger? This normally goes with a pathological jealousy and deep trust issues the other person might have which also means a terrible mental torture. However,no one deserves to be a punching bag. You are a human being amazing enough to be loved and be treated with care and respect.Your partner should make you feel safe not terrified and traumatized. PERIOD!

4. Do you get cheated and lied on?
 Well I know that so many of you actually made a peace with infidelity by convincing yourselves that it's something normal and expected  ("All men cheat" etc),but I still must say a word:
Can an average man accept the same "philosophy" when it comes to their woman?Ever?Do not forget,women also cheat as same as men do just in a different,less obvious ways.
But that is not the matter. If  his actions and behavior does not hurt you or make you feel bad and if you feel like you can actually live with it,then it's ALL GOOD AND FINE,but if NOT,you don't have to settle for it while shouting "Every man does it" around so you can console your heart.
I think that this issue is deeper because I don't think partnership and friendship  between two people can exist if there is no honesty and trust.That would make things so stressful and personally  I won't be able of dealing with it.

However,
Good relationships between people do not grow on trees for sure,we build them through ups and downs by focusing on goodness and love.

But also,I do not think you must stay in marriage by all means ,especially when it becomes a source of frustration and pain. That is not a purpose of a union between two people. You are not a victim. And you are in charge over your life.

At the end of the day,there is no such thing as a bad decision as long as we live according to it.