12/24/2025
Some people are gonna get upset with this. But hey, it’s not the first time. 🤷🏽♀️
Marriage is not for the faint ☝🏽. It’s not. Preparing for it requires knowing how to advocate for yourself without guilt and shame and how to protect your core values, especially with loved ones whose core values are different from yours.
Playing small and forgetting who you are doesn’t add to your marriage; it takes away from it. You position your marriage or relationship to imbalance when only one person’s needs/wants are met. Challenging this requires speaking up for your needs and desires, setting boundaries, and standing up for yourself respectfully and assertively. Your partner is not your enemy; they are, however, a person with their dreams, goals, needs and wants. You can’t be so busy with theirs that you forget yours. You must ensure your needs, wants, plans and objectives are met.
This allows you to maintain your own identity and sense of self-worth. Otherwise, you risk losing sight of who you are and what you want from life. This can lead to resentment, frustration, and even depression.
Furthermore, when you don’t advocate for yourself, you may inadvertently enable unhealthy patterns in your relationship. For example, suppose your partner consistently ignores your needs and desires, but you continue to go along with their wishes. In that case, you are permitting them to continue this behaviour. This can lead to a power imbalance in the relationship and ultimately erode the trust and intimacy essential to a healthy marriage.
On the other hand, when you advocate for yourself in a marriage, you demonstrate to your partner that you are a valuable and equal partner in the relationship. You are setting a tone of mutual respect and understanding, which can lead to a deeper and more fulfilling connection between you and your spouse.