Stoicism: A Guide for Couples Who Live Together Towards a Life of Harmony and Happiness by Appling the Stoic Principles in Everyday Life (ePub)

Researchers estimate that divorce in the United States happens in almost 50% of all marriages.

Here is an interesting fact; for first marriages, 41% do not last, for second marriages, 60% get annulled, and for third marriages, 73% end in separation.

You would expect the divorce rate to drop with subsequent marriages owing to the fact that there's some experience with the previous marriages, but no, it increases.

This rate does not include couples who choose to cohabit before getting married. Most of them rarely get to the marriage part. They separate soon after they realize that they cannot put up with their significant other.

You may think that you make the perfect couple, that you can overcome any obstacle, that he "gets you", or she "completes you" but that's just before you actually live together. Think of the many celebrity couples who get divorced in less than a year of getting married.

Once you are in the same house, the imperfections become clearer. You start to notice some annoying habits. You realize that they are not so pretty without makeup, or that they are spendthrifts or intolerable drama queens.

Unless the person is a psychopath, leaving the relationship is never the solution. The next person you get together with is still going to have flaws.

No one is perfect; you are not perfect, your partner is not perfect. You both have different personalities, weaknesses, and have been brought up differently. There can never be a perfect match. Each of you has to make an effort to make it work.

There are many changes and discomforts you experience when you move in together.

They include:

Monotony

Lack of Freedo

Boundaries

Finance

Dealing with Your Partner's Lifestyle

These changes require a lot of wisdom and commitment to handle and above all, guidance. What you thought was a big step forward can end up as a bigger step backward. Some of the things you experience may not just be from your spouse, but from you as well.

Negative feelings that you never thought you are capable of experiencing may emerge. They can make or break the relationship, depending on how you handle them.

So is it possible to have a happily ever after? Yes, by practicing stoicism.

Guidance in living a stoic life as a couple is what this book offers; commitment to stick through the changes, and practice what you learn requires your effort.