Life on the road is hard.
But it can also be hard on your spouse back home.
When you drive OTR, the time away from home and on-the-job stress can make it hard to keep your marriage happy and healthy. Hard as it may be, it isn’t impossible to be a truck driver and happily married. Here are some ideas (backed by research) to help you make it work.
Easy (and Proven) Ways To Make Your Marriage Better
1. Watch movies together. This may seem too good to be true, but researchers found that couples who watched movies together and then spend 30 minutes talking about the romantic relationships in the movie were half as likely to divorce. So go ahead and get the popcorn in the microwave and rent a DVD from Redbox next time you’re with your spouse. Your marriage will thank you.
2. Make a big deal out of good news. No matter how small. Researchers have found that positivity is an essential ingredient in a happy marriage. Maximize the good vibes in your relationship by acknowledging all of the good things in your life with your partner.
She talked her way out a speeding ticket? Awesome! Reward her brilliance with flowers.
He just celebrated 1 million accident-free miles? Bake him a cake!
3. Respond to your spouse, even if what they are saying doesn’t matter. If your wife is telling you about the latest reality show scandal while you’re trying to focus on the game, odds are pretty good that you don’t care. But don’t ignore her. Psychologist John Gottman found that couples who stayed married responded ninety percent of the time to random, distracting comments. Couples who would later divorce only responded to this type of comment one out of three times.
4. Say “we”, not “you” or “me”, especially when you fight. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that couples who used the word “we” were able to resolve conflicts more easily. Using “we” during a fight also helped reduce couple’s stress levels.
Sources:
Huffington Post
Time Magazine