It’s no secret that setting goals is a hot topic right now. I wrote about Resolutions for Your Marriage last week and i’m pretty sure every other post on Facebook right now is about your “word of the year”. While resolutions are fantastic for your marriage, I see tremendous value in actually setting goals together in your marriage as well. However, for this to really work, I feel like you have to honestly evaluate your relationship TOGETHER and communicate clearly. You both need to be on the same page and work at this thing as a partnership. For our relationship, setting goals has been extremely fun. There is something special about working together as a team toward a common goal. We have used these 5 Tips for Setting Goals in Marriage:
Open With Prayer
Prayer is extremely powerful and can bring so much value to your marriage. I highly suggest praying by yourself about your goals first and then praying together. Spend some time asking God to reveal to you what he wants for your marriage this year. Ask him to show you where you can improve and where you can dream together. Bring your desires before the Lord and see if they match up.
Communicate
Next communicate with each other about what you want your goals to be. This should be the fun part. Make it a date! Grab a cup of coffee together, go on a breakfast date, or even a fancy dinner date and dream together. Do you want to get your finances in order? Do you want to take a class together? Do you want to have more fun in your marriage and add in date nights? Do you want to take a vacation and work toward saving money? DREAM AWAY TOGETHER and COMMUNICATE clearly. Decide on a common goal or two together.
Set Action Steps
Next, set action steps to reach your goal. Do you want to have a monthly budget to work on your finances? Do you want every other Friday to be date night? Set actions. How will you save for that trip? Each of you should do this together. Be sure that one person isn’t doing all of the work. This is a team effort.
Establish A Timeline
Once you have action steps in place, establish a timeline for those long goals. Do you want to have $10,000 saved by Christmas? Do you want to learn a new hobby together by Valentine’s Day? Set a timeline. This will really help you stay on task and reach your goals.
Work As A Team
I have mentioned this quite a few times, but I thought it needed its own category as well. WORK AS A TEAM. While reaching the goal is great, part of the fun is working together toward the goal. It is those frozen pizza nights to save extra money. It is spontaneous date nights rekindling the fun in your marriage. The little moments make the different.
Have you and your spouse set goals in marriage before? Comment below and let me know some of your goals!