The concept of an arranged marriage sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it?

"Am I supposed to marry someone I haven't ever even properly talked to? How do I know she is made for me? She might be just the opposite of what I am looking for!" These are the typical arguments you get when you try to talk a youngster of today's world into an arranged marriage.

What the Stats Say

But actually, statistics show that arrange marriages have a greater chance of being successful than love marriages.

Countries like Pakistan where an overwhelming number of marriages are arranged marriages have drastically lower divorce rates than most western countries.

But a family staying together is one thing; their staying happy is quite another. The reason for lower divorce rates can be put down to a patriarchal society where it is difficult, bordering on impossible for a woman to function alone. Hence, women are forced to stay with their husbands despite all the problems because they simply have no other option.

Arranged Marriages Do Make Sense

But arranged marriages are still not as illogical as they first seem. When an arranged marriage is set up, many factors are considered, starting from financial background, education etc. down to the reputation of the families in the society. Only when these things match up, the marriage is ready to go ahead.

When the marrying couple is so similar in background and upbringing, it is very likely that they have similar goals in life, similar habits and similar demands out of each other. These makes things simple for them and makes it easy for them to live with each other.

A common problem that people have with arranged marriages is that you don't know the person you are marrying personally. Well, my experience with the world tells me that people are generally good-natured, especially if you are clever enough to work their personality out quickly and act accordingly. In an arranged marriage, there is a high percentage chance that the person you are being wed to is a decent soul. But, okay, there is a chance that he or she could be a horrible person, impossible to live with. But marriage is a risk anyway, and you just have to accept it.

Arranged Marriage is the Safer Way

In an arranged marriage, a conflict of personality is probably thing that could ruin the family. In a love marriage, where people marry into different kinds of families, in different nationalities, in different societies just because they are in love, the family could be broken apart by many other things too. Arguments could break out due to the so many differences. In my opinion, an arranged marriage is the much safer path with a higher chance of success.

There are many benefits of home cooked meals. Home-cooked meals are the best meals. You can prepare them according to your own taste, you can add things you love and not add things you do not like. These meals, prepared from scratch from fresh vegetables or meat with the delicious aura of spices added perfectly according to taste, are healthier, cheaper and tastier.

They save Time & Money

Eating packaged foods or eating from a restaurant is invariably more expensive than making your own meal. The ingredients of a common meal cost just a fraction of the cooked meals. Making your own meal is also often quicker than going out to eat. Driving to the nearest restaurant, ordering the meal, waiting for it to be prepared and then bringing it back home usually takes more time than fixing up something to eat in your own kitchen.

Healthier to Eat at Home

Food-borne diseases are very common. 1 in 6 Americans contract a food related disease every year. The growing trend of eating most of the meals outside could be responsible for this. Home-cooked meals are generally safer as you are cooking everything yourself. A meal prepared from scratch in front of your own eyes is healthier than the cooked meal bought from a restaurant. Additionally, cooked meals have additional fat content which could be unhealthy too. Restaurants focus just on taste; health is not one of the main preferences for their meals. But when you make something for yourself or your family, you make sure that the meal you are making is as healthy as it is tasty.

Family Time

As a family, preparing and eating home-cooked food gives you an excellent time to bond and spend some quality time with the family. While schedules are often tough, taking out time on weekends and eating together at home is an excellent way to spend a weekend. Collaborating in the kitchen and sharing simple tasks with the kids is a very healthy thing.

If you are a good cook, then making your own meals is so much better than eating out in every single way. However, if you are not so good in the kitchen, even then learning to make some basic things is not only easy, but also beneficial for your health, budget and the family.

Sometimes, you are too busy or tired and want to buy read-to-eat stuff. I recommend you to look at Amazon's Fresh Meal Kits, available for purchase at competitive prices.

You can choose to be happy. This is what many psychologists say. Positive feelings of empathy, gratitude and optimism can take the mind away from bad things and take the bitter feelings away. In this way, despite of challenging conditions, you can convince your mind to be happy by focusing on the positive things.

This research has some weight. But what if there are not many positive things in your life at all? Then what will you focus on to make you happy?

It's Not Simply Flipping a Switch

This makes it apparent that being happy is not all about flipping a switch inside your head. It is about life's struggles and achievements too. A person who has all the possessions he wants and everything he needs, it will certainly be easier for him to convince his mind to be happy than a jobless, homeless person.

Being happy isn't all about a choice. To be happy, you need to be successful to some degree. Success here does not mean a top tier white collar job. A shopkeeper running his small shop but running it well is successful. Succeeding in small things in life is as important as succeeding in the bigger ones. Success harbors optimism and optimism is a cornerstone for being happy.

Everyone is not successful and everyone is not wealthy. You can try for these things but ultimately gaining them can be down to chance too. So happiness does come down to chance too. It is very much likely that a luckier man is the happier one.

It is Choice AND Chance!

But there is no simple relation between luck and happiness. A healthy frame of mind is important too. A person who has a positive, charismatic personality can be happier than a gloomier, slightly luckier person. So it is actually a bit of both things. It is important to be successful and lucky, but to make the most out of your conditions, it is vital to be psychologically healthy.

Tag: Does money make you happy?

Nowadays, many people have been forced to part from their loved ones due to professional duties and many other reasons. But now, thanks to technology, the myth that Long-Distance relationships are bound to fail, has been broken. Its might be a bit difficult but simple adaptions in your life can help you maintain the warmth of your relationship. Thanks to technology, now its easier then ever, to stay connected with your special ones.

Honesty:

This is the most integral part in maintaining a relationship. Doesn't matter how far you are from each other, if either of the partner deceives each other, the relationship is bound to fail. Openly share every detail of your life with your partner, after all he/she is the special one. This action will strengthen your trust in each other.

Stay Connected:

Talk to each other very often. It does not matter what you talk about, its the very fact that you are there for him/her that matters. Send random selfies and screenshots, ask for advice, share the highs and lows you suffer in your daily life, a little bit of gossip maybe, for spicing up the fun! If possible, prefer video call over audio or texting. There are several tools in out there in the market which allow you to freely chat with your friends without straining your budget.

Same activity at the Same Time:

Do something collectively, at the same time. For example, you should make a plan of watching a movie on the weekend at the same time. Then message each other throughout the movie, criticizing the lame acting of the hero or how the devious villain could have easily escaped from the police. Your friend trying to ask you stupid questions, in spite of the fact that you are watching the movie for the first time yourself. It will be annoying but after all that's what best friends do

Have your fair share of secrets:

As is normal, you most likely have not one, yet a couple of individuals with whom you can literally share anything. But still, make it a point to keep a few things strictly in the middle of you and your bestie. Realizing that you believe one another enough to uncover something that nobody else on the planet is mindful of, will fortify the bond you have with each other.

TRAVEL!

No matter how close you might still be despite the distance between you, nothing substitutes seeing him/her in reality. So save up a little and every once in a while, when you can afford it, travel over to see your special one. If either of you can't afford coming over, then plan on meeting somewhere halfway. This will save you the expense but it will still allow you to see you NUMBER ONE!

Tag: Long distance relationship