By: Donna Martin
Have you set goals for this year? Setting goals helps us accomplish the things that we want to achieve in our careers and in our personal life. But have you thought about setting goals as a couple?
Setting goals is one way to strengthen your marriage and help you have a “happy together” marriage. Setting goal and working together to accomplish them helps strengthen relationships because you have something in common that you are working together to achieve.
Here’s a plan to help you get started
1. Before you set your goals, spend some time in prayer alone and together and ask God to help you as you decide on your couple goals for the New Year.
2. Make a date when you can have a few minutes of uninterrupted time to talk about your goals.
3. When you decide on your goals write them down and keep them in a place where you can see them easily. This is very important because when we write down our goals we are much more likely to achieve them.
4. Decide on the date that you want to have each goal completed. Some goals may only take a few days or weeks to accomplish while other may take months or years. However, it is important that you set a realistic date for completion.
5. Divide your goals into categories such as family, travel, financial, health, etc.
Decide on goals that fit your interests and your personalities. Some suggestions are: attend a marriage seminar, pay off the credit cards, walk along the Great Wall of China, go on dates at least once a month, run a 5k race, memorize a Bible verse together each month. There are endless possibilities.
Choose goals that will be both fun and challenging. Celebrate when you complete goals. At the end of the year, talk about the goals that you have accomplished. You may or may not complete them all and some may take a little longer than the deadline that you set, but the important thing is writing them down and working together as a team to accomplish the goals.
The Martins currently present “Happy Together” marriages seminars for churches and organizations. To schedule a seminar call Michael at 940-735-1515. They also publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues. You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriage.com.