Couples that Plan Together, Stay Together
Life goals can help you grow as an individual; they give your career a boost, improve your self-esteem, and help you accomplish new tasks in a new year. But this is only the beginning. Creating goals as a couple can help strengthen your romantic relationship.
Some experts say that romantic relationships are like businesses. For instance, we each make a symbolic contract when we start a committed relationship and we each use our best qualities to help the relationship succeed. One thing that every successful business needs is a detailed mission/vision statement. Goals will help the two of you work as a team. These goals can help you stay motivated, set priorities, and improve your communication.
Listed below are some Mindful Mate ideas for creating goals as a couple.
- Set up relationship meetings. Since romantic relationships are similar to businesses set up frequent relationship meetings so you can create and discuss your plans as a couple? Go somewhere special (a mini trip) and turn your relationship meetings into a regrouping retreat.
- Brainstorm. Before your meeting, you should each meditate on what you want to accomplish together. It could be big dreams like fixing your finances, buying a house, planning a vacation or arranging your wedding. Or it can be smaller things like learning how to dance or taking cooking classes together.
- Create S.M.A.R.T. goals. In order for you and your spouse to come up with feasible goals, you’ll need to be sure that your dreams are S.M.A.R.T. Make sure that they’re specific, meaningful, attainable, relevant, and can be attained in a timely manner.
- Don’t forget your own goals. Creating goals together is ideal, but don’t forget about your own passions. Whether they’re small or extravagant having our own goals will help us grow as a person and enrich our other relationships. Consider setting goals for your physical and mental health.
- Target breakdown. Experts say that once you come up with your “big picture” goals, the big dreams you want to achieve in five to ten years, come up with a plan to reach your vision. Breakdown your large goal into smaller targets (like a yearly, monthly, weekly, and maybe even daily to-do list) that’ll lead you to the big picture.
- Celebration. Every accomplishment calls for a celebration. So, if you two have reached a goal together, try doing something special to honor your achievement like going out for a romantic dinner date.