Marriage and Happiness: What the Latest Research Shows with Brad Wilcox

Today's show is part of the insightful "Society Check-In" mini-series.  This episode is all about understanding what's happening in our culture, how we should educate ourselves, and how that knowledge translates to effective leadership everywhere, from the workplace to our own families.

This episode is a must-share!  I'm joined by expert Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, to talk about the research on families and marriage. His new book, Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization, explains how the current erosion of strong families is at the root of many of our society's problems, and it traces this decline back to anti-family influences in entertainment, politics, media, education, and big business.

Join Brad and I as we talk about: 

• What types of people are the happiest

• How marriage affects our happiness

• Four groups that are forging strong marriages

• Ways our community can support struggling marriages

• The family first model

• Teaching our kids the success sequence

Favorite quotes: 

• 9:27 audio - “There are four groups today, Asian Americans, religious Americans, college-educated Americans, and conservative Americans who are more likely to be married today and either more likely to be happily married or stably married.”

• 10:18 audio - “For most couples, especially those with kids, having a reliable breadwinner in the picture is key.”

• 15:26 audio- “Serving others and being there for others actually makes us happier.”

• 16:57 audio - “In general, we see that both men and women who are married parents are the happiest Americans today and that is because our kids bring us not just stress and drama but also a lot of meaning and joy.” 

• 18:25 audio - “For young adults who do those three things, get a high school degree, are working, and get married their odds of being poor as they head into their late 20s and 30s are just 3 and their odds of being in the middle class or higher are 86%.”

• 22:04 audio - “Couples that are embedded in a church community or some kind of synagogue or temple are more likely to avoid divorce because they are surrounded by people who tend to prioritize marriage and family.”

Coaching this week: How to Make Progress (Audio 23:47) 

In today’s coaching session, I talked about how necessary it is to take a small step forward, even without perfect clarity. What will inaction cost you? I also discussed some quick ways to commit to taking action—God will guide you as you go.

Links to great things we discussed: 

• Institute for Family Studies

• Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization

• Family / Best Is Yet to Come - Judah & the Lion

• The Power of Commitment

• Measuring Spoons

• 3-Day Course Idea Breakthrough

• Alli on YouTube

• Called Creatives

Order your copy of Remaining You While Raising Them here.

Hope you loved this episode!  Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)xo,

Alli