While it would be nice and stuff if relationships were clear cut, they are nowhere near that and take quite a lot of work to make them work.

However, the code was cracked and there is a way to make relationships work easier with a simple set of simple rules, because knowing is half the battle.

Business strategist and writer Ryan Stephens tweeted a set of six rules that he thinks are key in making a relationship, or more specifically, a marriage, work, not as soulmates, but rather as teammates.

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Relationships are hard, but not impossible or hopeless, as long as people work on them

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So, back in early 2019, Stephens tweeted that his wife and he had figured out that focusing more on being a part of the same team in their marriage—and not being soulmates—was their key to a successful marriage.

This inevitably led to his six rules that both he and his wife try to follow so as to be good teammates to each other in their marriage.

Writer Ryan Stephens points out 6 key rules to follow that ensure people in a relationship are ‘teammates’ and not ‘soulmates’

Image credits: ryanstephens

With each tweet within the thread, he points out one rule, first explained in one sentence, and then elaborating within the confines of Twitter’s 280-character cap.

The rules focused on factors like interpersonal communication, support for each other, trust, and respect, among many other things.

Image credits: ryanstephens

For instance, the first rule effectively says don’t badmouth your spouse to your friends. Sure, it’s OK to joke about it, but it’s not cool to demean your spouse, so knowing the difference here and being aware of it is key.

Another rule he highlights is to be grateful for each other’s contributions. It doesn’t matter what it is—money, time, chores, etc.—be thankful for it as it shows support and appreciation. This rule also stresses avoiding competition. You get the drift.

Image credits: ryanstephens

After listing the six rules, Stephens concludes by saying that marriage is not all about love and romance—it is work, hard work on a daily basis, it’s prioritizing your partner. He then links to a more elaborate rundown of the whole thing on his website that details the rules and more.

People on Twitter loved this idea, with some adding their own recipes for successful marriages. These varied from not hating on your kids to accepting that you won’t always like your spouse or even, very simply put, just be nice to your spouse.

40,000 likes later, the post went viral and people started sharing their thoughts about it

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Others debated some of the points, with one saying that she doesn’t necessarily agree with marriage not being all about love. She claims love is the reason you’re together in the first place, the reason you don’t give up midway through the relationship.

Regardless, the tweet thread managed to garner over 40,000 likes with just 300 retweets shy of 12,000. The remaining tweets in the thread all garnered an average of 8,000 likes per tweet.

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What are your thoughts on this? Are there any rules that you’d like to tweak or to add your own to make this a more comprehensive list? Let us know in the comment section below!

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