08/01/2026
Marriage Systems — A Plain-Talk Manifesto
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Most couples don’t fail because they don’t care.
They fail because they’re guessing.
What are they guessing about?
They’re guessing:
• why the same fight keeps coming back,
• why talking more doesn’t help,
• why effort feels like pushing on a door that won’t open,
• why things calm down for a while… then fall apart again.
Guessing is expensive.
It burns time, energy, and goodwill.
And guessing usually means one thing:
They don’t understand what’s actually running their marriage.
What We Mean by a “System”
A system is the way things actually work, not the way we hope they work.
If something keeps happening — even when no one wants it to —
that’s the system.
A thermostat is a system.
A small business is a system.
A family is a system.
A marriage is a system.
A system isn’t a theory.
It’s the pattern that shows up when life applies pressure.
Why Marriage Help Often Falls Short
Most marriage help focuses on:
• communication (how you talk),
• emotions (how you feel),
• insight (what you understand).
Those things matter.
But they assume the marriage basically works
and just needs fine-tuning.
Some marriages don’t need tuning.
They need changes to how decisions and responsibilities are arranged.
Because the way the marriage is set up
can no longer carry the weight of real life.
What We Mean by “Pressure”
Pressure is everything the marriage is dealing with at once.
That includes:
• money stress,
• kids’ needs,
• health issues,
• time pressure,
• unresolved conflict,
• divided loyalties,
• exhaustion.
Pressure isn’t bad.
Life creates pressure.
The real question is whether the marriage can handle it without breaking down.
What We Mean by “Stuck”
A marriage is stuck when effort goes up but nothing changes.
You try harder.
You explain better.
You pray more.
You go to counselling.
And the same problems keep coming back.
That’s not laziness.
That’s not stubbornness.
That’s a marriage that no longer works the way it needs to.
The Business Analogy (Because It’s Obvious There)
Think about a small business under stress.
If cash keeps disappearing, you don’t tell people to “care more.”
You look at:
• where money is coming in,
• where it’s leaking out,
• who decides what,
• what happens when something breaks.
Marriage works the same way.
If goodwill keeps disappearing,
you don’t fix it with speeches.
You look at how the marriage is organised.
What We Mean by “Structure”
Structure is how decisions are actually made — not how people say they’re made.
Structure includes:
• who carries which responsibilities,
• who gets a say when something goes wrong,
• how conflict is handled,
• how problems are fixed (or not),
• what gets avoided.
Structure shapes outcomes more than intentions ever do.
As Charlie Munger put it:
“Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome.”
Marriage Systems is about noticing the incentives you didn’t realise you built into the marriage.
Why Effort Alone Stops Working
Effort works when the system makes good use of it.
Effort fails when the system is overloaded or poorly set up.
Trying harder in a broken system is like rowing harder in a boat with a hole in it.
Noble.
Exhausting.
Useless.
Understanding the system tells you whether:
• effort will help,
• effort will make things worse,
• or effort will just wear people out.
Why Light. Safe. True. Comes First
Looking honestly at how a marriage works can be uncomfortable.
It can mean realising:
• some responsibilities are uneven,
• some pressures are too heavy,
• some patterns won’t fix themselves.
That kind of honesty only works under the right conditions.
Light. Safe. True. describes how this work is done.
• Light means clear facts, not blame.
• Safe means no threats, no pressure, no forcing decisions.
• True means saying what’s real instead of pretending things are fine.
When people feel attacked, they defend.
When reality is avoided, nothing changes.
How This Relates to Therapy and Faith
Therapy helps people understand themselves and each other.
Faith gives marriage meaning, commitment, and moral seriousness.
Marriage Systems helps couples understand why effort, insight, and commitment sometimes stop producing results.
It doesn’t replace therapy.
It doesn’t replace covenant.
It helps couples see what problem they are actually dealing with.
What This Work Is For
This work is for people who are tired of guessing:
• whether patience is wisdom or fear,
• whether silence is peace or avoidance,
• whether trying harder will help or make things worse,
• whether the marriage can really cope with what life is demanding.
We don’t promise easy answers.
We promise clearer thinking, fewer bad bets, and better odds.
Light. Safe. True.
Marriage Systems.
Less guessing.
More understanding.
A marriage that actually works.
