As we already know, it is important to set goals in your life. It is a powerful way to think about your ideal future and motivate yourself to turn your vision into reality. We set goals for our education, career, health, financial, family, and many more type of goals that are going to improve your quality of life and make you happy.
However, how many of you spend time making relationship goals? Whether you are married or in the first few months of wonderful, romantic love, relationship maintenance is a good idea. It can give your relationship a boost, take your relationship to the next level, and make it stronger.
It is easy to get caught up in our busy lives, with work, children, and running errands, but how much time do we spend nurturing our relationship. I heard Dr. Gottman speak once, he is a leading researcher and psychologist on relationships and marriage, and he asked, “Do you know what your partner’s dreams are for the future?” This is an important question to ask your mate. Maybe you have different ideas of how you want your future together to be, or how you see yourselves living when you retire. If you can ask yourselves these questions now, then you can plan and make goals for yourselves so you both can get what you want or compromise if you need to.
Here is a list of 7 relationship goals that will make your love stronger!
- Communication:
Not to sound cliché, but communication is the key to having a strong, emotional connection. First, you need to take time out of your busy lives and communicate. Second, listening and hearing when your partner has to say is important. Be emotionally responsive which means you are present, not looking at your phone, but looking into your partner’s eyes and really hearing what they are telling you. Third, validate what your partner said to you. Validation is key because it sends the message to your partner that you understand how they are feeling and what they are communicating to you.
- Date Night:
This is another way to set aside time for each other to connect, communicate and have fun. Make your relationship a priority by having regular date nights, once a week or once a month. Even if it means staying home and watching a movie together, it’s more about spending time together, just the two of you. Stick to your plan and make it a regular occurrence. It gives you both something to look forward to as well.
- Do things for each other on a regular basis:
You don’t want your partner to feel like they are being taken for granted right? So, actively doing things for each other, big or small, to show that you care and appreciate them is important. You can do this by writing them a love note, taking out the trash without having been told to do so, or making your partner a cup of coffee in the morning.
- Be Accessible:
The key to having a strong emotional connection is to be there for each other. This means that you are there for the good times and bad times. You are the first person your mate calls when something good or bad happens. You are reachable, accessible, and your mate knows they can count on you no matter what.
- Have fun:
Plan fun things to do together or to learn something new whether it is a sport, or dance classes. Keep it fun and exciting. Learning something new together can add spice to your life and give you something to work on together. You can be as adventurous as you want, maybe you want go skydiving together! Your relationship will be better for it!
- Health:
This is also great to address together. What are your health goals? What can you both do to be healthier? Can you add more exercise into your life? Maybe join a gym together or go for walks in the evenings. Or maybe you want to eat healthier and lose weight together. It is good to talk about your health goals and make a plan together as to how you can support each other and achieve your goals.
- Keep the romance and intimacy alive!
Keeping your physical connection as healthy as your emotional connection. Couples that are intimate at least once a week report having greater satisfaction in their marriages. Keeping the romance helps too! Bring your partner flowers, or send loving text messages to each other, watch the sunset together, by keeping the romance alive, the intimacy will follow as well.
At the end of the day, we all want a happy, loving, and strong relationship with our partners. But relationships take work and commitment. It is possible to have the loving and strong relationship you desire if you are willing to put the time, effort and work into it. By creating these goals with your mate, you can achieve just that!
