So who is ready for the first part of the wellness challenge! I thought the first place to start was with one of our most important relationships (after our relationship with God), our marriage! The health of our marriages is extremely important! People in healthy marriages live longer (250% longer for married men and 50% longer for married women), promotes mental wellness and protects against mental illness (are less anxious and depressed), it lowers your chance of being a victim of violence both for men and women, there are financial benefits as earning potential increases for maried couples, and a better sex life (which can boost immunity, reduce stress, ease tension and headaces and all sorts of other physical benefits, as well as increasing intimacy with our spouse), leading to great self-esteem, self-worth, and feeling desired and wanted.
When our marriages are happy and healthy, we are more happy and healthy individuals and when we are more happy and healthy individuals we have happy and healthy marriages (we don't really know what comes first, its like the chicken and the egg - but regardless they occur together). Marital health and satisfaction is directly related to our overall wellbeing, which in turn will make our marriages better! But, a good marriage doesn't come without work. We need to put effort into our marriage, pray with and for our spouse, listen to them, talk to them, respect them, and cherish them. Sometimes we let our marriage fall to the way side because we become so comfortable with our partner that we stop striving to make our marriages better, but this is just harming your wellness and your spouses! So now we know why it is important to our overall wellness to have a happy marriage, here comes the challenge! Do you have goals for your marriage for 2017? I recently got a new planner and I am so excited! One of my favorite things about a new year is getting a new planer, looking at all the vast possibilities. This year my planner has an area exclusively dedicated to goals. What your goals for the year in several different categories: financial, personal, social, and business. It then breaks it down quarterly so you can break down your overall goals into manageable chunks. And as I was preparing my planner for the year I started to think about what I want my goals for 2017 to be! I want to grow my blog, develop professionally, learn how to save some money, and nurture my relationships. Those would be my big overall goals, and then break them down into manageable chunks. New Year Resolutions v. Goals Now I know everyone makes a New Year’s Resolution, but those are often broken before mid-January. Goals are more impactful, and longer lasting than a New Year’s Resolution, especially if you put it in writing. As we enter January and prepare ourselves for the coming year focusing on wellness and how we are going to live well this year remember all facets of life are important. As you can see in the categories above my planner didn’t have a space for any marital, or relational goals. I know that not everyone purchasing the planner would be married or in a relationship, but I think this area of our lives often gets overlooked when we make goals, especially if things are already going well. We don’t really try to improve unless the relationship is on the brink of dissolution. Goals often focus on health, financial success, work, or academics. But those of us who are married or in committed relationships need to make goals concerning where we want our relationship to end up. That is why I am making goals for my marriage this year! As I am just entering my second year of marriage I want it to be even better than the first. And after all, I ask my clients to make goals for their relationship all the time in counseling so we know what we are working towards. Why would I recommend to my clients to make goals concerning their relationship if I do not do so in my relationship. I ask them to make goals because it is an effective method of charting where you want to end up and the progress you are making to get there. In counseling this is particularly effective because there is someone to hold you accountable to working towards your goal. So here are my marriage goals for 2017:
A Challenge to All I encourage each of you to make goals for your marriage this year, write them down, and post them somewhere in your house where they can be seen on a regular basis. When making your own goals, keep it to three to minimum and five at a maximum. A manageable number will ensure that you will not get overwhelmed and forgo your goals. Make them measurable. For example, one of my goals was “to attend church at least twice a month, if not more” not just “attend church more.” This is specific and measureable. I will know if I have achieved this. Make sure your partner is on board, this helps if you sit down together to make the goals. This could be a fun date idea for ya’ll to start off the New Year. If they are joint goals they will be much easier to accomplish, you can hold each other accountable to achieve your goals. If you need further help staying accountable maybe you can partner up with another couple that you trust, share your goals with another couple and ask them to help you stay accountable, check in regularly; and you can do the same for them. What are some of your goals for your marriage this year? Let me know in the comments! Check out Week 2 and Week 3 here!
20 Comments
Grace Lipscomb
1/2/2017 09:13:48 pm
Thanks!! our marriages and long term relationships are so important to our long term and overall health yet it's rarely mentioned at Doctor visits. Emotional wellbeing is critical yet often so over looked! I would love to see this change!
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/4/2017 07:38:14 am
That's an awesome goal! Remember to make it measurable by defining exactly what that means for yall so you can look back and see if you are meeting your goal!!
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 10:10:46 am
Yes! In preparing for this post my husband and I sat down together to make our goals so I could share them here!
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 01:57:10 pm
A great goal!! I think the goals we set in our marriages should reflect the goals we set in our spiritual goals anyway. Since the Bible compares marriage to the relationship Christ has with the Church!
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 04:56:47 pm
Yes! I think quarterly evaluations could be a fun date night idea too!!
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 08:44:58 pm
I pray it goes well for you!!
Reply
1/3/2017 08:53:35 pm
I do make goals every year but didn't ever think of making goals for our marriage. Thanks for the inspiration.
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 09:17:12 pm
You are welcome! I hope this year you make some!
Reply
We go to church weekly and yes to having monthly date nights - we try to do that 2x a month. We love praying together and doing new things and exploring new local places. checking out new towns doesn't usually cost more than a cup of coffee and our time.
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/3/2017 10:20:21 pm
Yes! I love exploring new places!
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/4/2017 08:44:24 am
Yes! when you write them down it will be easier to see and remind yourself of them!
Reply
1/6/2017 12:56:38 am
These are great ideas. Definitely incorporating some of these this year. Thanks for sharing.
Reply
Grace Lipscomb
1/6/2017 07:28:06 am
Thanks Kayla! hope it works out great for ya!! I'd love for you to join along for the rest of the challenge by hopping over to Facebook.com/adventuresofayoungwife!!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |