10 Tips for a Good Marriage from Dr. Phil

After being happily married for 33 years, Dr. Phil McGraw shares some of his thoughts about what makes a marriage work:

#1 The quality of a relationship is a function of the extent to which it is built on a solid underlying friendship and meets the needs of the two people involved.

#2 You get what you give. When you give better, you get better.

#3 If you put your relationship in a win/lose situation, it will be a lose/lose situation.

#4 Forget whether you're right or wrong. The question is: Is what you're doing working or not working?

#5 There is no right or wrong way to fix a relationship. Find your own way that works. But recognize when it's not working and be honest when it needs fixing.

#6 Falling in love is not the same thing as being in love. Embrace the change and know that it takes work.

#7 You don't fix things by fixing your partner.

#8 Intimacy is so important because it is when we let someone else enter our private world.

#9 You don't necessarily solve problems. You learn how to manage them.

#10 Communicate. Make sure your sentences have verbs. Remember that only 7% of communication is verbal. Actions and non-verbal communication speak much louder.