Goals. Do you have any?

I received some excellent advice from Angie on this topic:

“Last year on our anniversary trip, my husband and I bought a really nice leather journal to write down
yearly goals,
strengths and weaknesses of our marriage,
vacation ideas,
and things we needed to focus on with each other and with each of our children.

We then decided to meet weekly for lunch and go over each item to see where we were and what changes needed to be made to make us better spouses and parents.

It really makes the difference to have things on paper
and it gives us something we can look “back on” and “to” while praying for one another!”

~ Angie, married 14 years

I love making goals – for myself as a mom, wife, daughter, etc. I love making physical goals for myself. Last year, one of my goals was to run a half marathon. I did it. Would I have done that if I had never made it a goal for myself? Ummmm….definitely not.

This year, one of my goals is to read one book a month. I’m struggling with keeping up with this goal, but I think I’m going to make it. I still have 2 (auggghhhhh!!!!) months to go. 🙂

When making goals for yourself or your marriage, keep the following checklist in mind:

A good goal should meet these 5 criteria. That way, when you get to the end of the day/week/year, you can look back and decide whether or not you met your goals. For example, a poorly written goal would be:

“This year, I will spend more time with my spouse.”

A well-written goal might say something like:

“This year, I will spend at least 1 hour/week alone with my spouse.”

See the difference? The first goal is kinda hard to cross off your list because what’s the definition of “more time?”

The second goal is very clear – 1 hour weekly; one-on-one; with spouse.

How about you? Are there any goals you need to make this week?

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