By Otto Collins

Ethan was dumbfounded when one day-- seemingly out of the blue-- his wife announced to him that she needed to take some time apart from him to re-evaluate their marriage. She said that she's started to wonder if she loves him anymore.

Even though Ethan is aware that both he and his wife have been very busy focusing in on their careers and their kids over the past several years, he had no idea that his wife was so unhappy and dissatisfied.

Worse yet, his wife told him that she sees him as the main reason why she is now doubting her love and their marriage.

It can happen quickly and it can be a shock.

One minute you're going along in life with your nice marriage, your job, kids, home, hobbies and so on. The next minute that nice marriage is in danger or comes crashing down around your feet!

How does an honest man-- who isn't having affairs-- wreck a marriage?

Every relationship is different; but, for many men, it happens because they stop paying attention.

After a period of time, some men become complacent in their love relationships or marriages. They don't go out of their way to make their women feel special, appreciated and loved-- even if that's how the men feel.

They no longer notice what their women are interested in and what's going on in their lives. Instead, they get caught up in their work, their hobbies, their sports teams, their projects and their own private world.

Don't get me wrong.

Women are almost always jointly responsible for the distance that forms in many long-term relationships. Women can become just as absorbed their own private lives.

But if you are a man who wants his marriage or love relationship to be long-lasting, passionate and close, you need to look at the ways that YOU have zoned out and stopped paying attention to your woman and your marriage.

Start creating space in your awareness and time in your busy schedule to take the extra steps necessary to turn a "nice" marriage into one that is great, awesome and spectacular!

Once a day, ask yourself this question...

"What could I do to let my woman know that she is special to me today?"

It doesn't have to cost any money and it probably won't take all that much time. It can be a gentle caress on the arm, a sincere thanks for cooking your meal, a bouquet of flowers for no reason at all, or whatever you are moved to do.

The point is to regularly and in heartfelt ways show your woman how much you love and appreciate her as well as how sexy and desirable she is to you.