Okay, I’ll admit the title of this blog post is weird.

For the past week I have been mesmerized by the Olympic Games. I have always loved the Olympics, but lately the Winter Games have been particularly intriguing to me. There is a “throw caution to the wind” element to many of the events. Influenced by the X-Games culture, this group of skaters, skiers, lugers, snowboarders, bobsledders and the lot are obsessed with derring-do.

Here’s the connection…I think. In order for these athletes to “do the derring”, they must have 100% commitment. They must completely sell out to their trick or run. In the immortal words of Mr. Miyagi, “Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later get squish, just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do ‘yes’ or karate do ‘no.’ You karate do ‘guess so,’ squish, just like grape.”

Now, on to marriage. Research has proven over the years that couples choosing to live together before marriage are much more likely to be unhappy in their marriage. The most recent study completed at Denver University in 2009 confirms this. (Click here for the story.) One of the hypotheses is that as couples are afraid to commit wholeheartedly, they “slide” into marriage….with low expectations of the relationship and its potential longevity.

Whatever the reason, easing into commitment in relationships appears to have the same result as easing into an Olympic half pipe.

Squish, just like grape.