Successful couples accept influence from each other. 

Meaning they listen to, and seek out each other's opinions before making a decision. This is particularly hard for most men and some women. So men please don't feel like I am picking on you in this blog post. I am a man myself; I know how difficult it is to do what I am saying here. 

But it is extremely important to do this to see improvement in your marriage. Research into martial happiness has unearthed that men who allow their wives to influence them have the happiest marriages and are less likely to divorce than men who resist their wives' influence. 

When a husband is not willing to share power with his partner, there is an 81% chance that his marriage will self-destruct. Husband, how would you feel if your spouse, coworker or best friend always made plans for you, but didn't take your feelings, and opinions into consideration when they made a decision that affected you. Would you be happy with that person? Wouldn't it start to affect your relationship with them? Of course it would. 

More research into this has found that the happiest, most stable marriages in the long run were those where the husband treated his wife with respect and did not resist sharing power and decision making with her. When the couple disagreed, these husbands actively searched for common ground rather than insisting on getting their way. Remember marriage counseling can help you avoid divorcing and help you rebuild your marriage.