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Sure, we all know that smart people tend to end up together but is there a reason for this? Why is it that success seems to flow for both or not flow for anyone at all in regards?

There is no denying the people we allow within our inner circle influence how we move forth in life. For instance, if we surround ourselves with those who refuse to get up and make something of themselves, we too will end up facing the same. The people we surround ourselves with can and usually do influence how we move forth. When it comes to marriage, our lovers play a big role in this.

According to a study published at Carnegie Mellon University, spouses affect our decisions and thus end up making a difference on a huge scale as to how we end up in life. They play a role much larger than any other in whether or not we succeed in life. The title of the article covering this study was named “Supportive relationships linked to willingness to pursue opportunities” and it was made public back in 2017.

The study itself was published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and made it quite clear that supportive spouses are much more likely to take on challenges that help their partner in the long run. They accept the things before them and play a serious helping hand and thus bring on more happiness, growth, and so forth within the relationship itself. The more willing your lover is to embrace challenges the more positive your relationship will be overall.

The abstract of this study was written as follows:

Deciding to embrace challenging opportunities may present one life context through which individuals may thrive, and these decisions may be influenced by one’s significant relationships. Married couples were unobtrusively videotaped as one couple-member was presented with a challenging opportunity and decided whether to accept it. We assessed interpersonal predictors of the decision to accept or forgo the opportunity, predictors of the spouse’s support during decision-making, and follow-up thriving outcomes 6 months later. Results indicated that specific support behaviors enacted by the spouse—relational catalyst (RC) support provision—encouraged decision-makers to accept the challenge and that this decision predicted long-term thriving outcomes for the decision-maker. Results also indicated that the spouse’s support behavior was influenced by both chronic and experimentally manipulated motivations for providing support, and these motives provide pathways by which relationship satisfaction and attachment security predict the provision of RC support. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

These researchers found that this kind of thing makes for a serious well-being boost in regards to everyone involved in the relationship. While the group was small and consisted of a mere 163 married couples, things seem to reign true. The more that the couple pushes through, the more they will come together and higher they will climb in regards to the ladder of success.

How important are supportive spouses to you? Is your spouse/lover there for you when you need him/her to be? Mine has definitely helped me become a better person and even now teaches me more and more as the days pass. When it comes to being happy and successful, perhaps we should be focusing on team efforts more.