# How to Retain Your Individuality in Marriage



## Administrator

Many marriage ceremonies incorporate a unity candle which symbolizes the change from two individuals becoming one couple united in marriage. While it is important to spend time strengthening your relationship with your partner, you need to retain some of your own individuality as well. In this article you will learn why people tend to lose themselves in relationships and you will receive some tips for maintaining your identity as an individual in marriage.

*Why Do People Lose Themselves in Relationships?*

If you think back to the early stages of your relationship with your partner, you can probably identify several ways in which you compromised your individuality for the sake of the relationship. Perhaps you gave up your evening aerobics class once a week to have dinner with your partner. Or maybe you started spending less time with your friends and more time with other couples. Giving up some of your individual time for the sake of strengthening your relationship is completely normal and there is nothing wrong with it – unless you do it so much that you lose who you are as an individual. Getting married doesn’t mean that you have to give up who you are or what you like – it just means that you might have to work a little harder to balance your individual identity with your identities as a couple.

*Tips for Retaining Individuality in Marriage*

Retaining your individuality in a marriage is not necessarily difficult, but it will take some time and a little bit of work as well. The key is to strike a balance between tending to yourself and your needs as an individual with time spent working on your relationship. Here are some simple tips to help you to maintain a healthy balance:


•	Don’t try to spend every waking minute with your partner – set aside some “me” time for yourself at least a few times a week so you can pursue activities you enjoy.

•	Maintain relationships with your close friends and family – when you get into a committed relationship it is easy to let other relationships fall by the wayside. In order to retain your individuality, you need to keep those other relationships strong.

•	Don’t feel like you always have to say “yes”. Just because you are married to someone doesn’t mean that you have to do everything they say. You want to make your partner happy, of course, but don’t let it happen at the detriment to your own happiness or individuality. 

•	Keep the lines of communication open between you and your partner. Each of you is an individual with your own thoughts and opinions – one of the best ways to retain your individuality in marriage is to stay in constant communication with your partner so that each of you knows where the other stands.​
These are just a few ways that you can retain your individuality in a marriage. Just make sure that as you take these steps to maintain your individual identity, you allow your partner to do the same. The stronger each of you is as an individual, the stronger your relationship will be as a couple.


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