Improve Your Marriage With Goal Setting
importance of having clearly defined marketing goals before I was able
to get my business off the ground. I floundered around for quite some
time before hiring Juliet Austin (www.julietaustin.com), a marketing
coach for healing professionals. One of the first things Juliet did
was help me clearly define what I wanted to achieve.
Once I figured out what my aim was Juliet helped me to keep my goals
ever present in my mind so that I was always working towards their
fulfillment and not led astray by distractions. The result was that I
achieved more than I ever imagined I could, I now have a successful
private practice, and in order to continue in that success I will
continue setting goals.
However, goal setting is not only important for success in business.
Goal setting is the key to progress for all great achievers.
Exceptional athletes had to set fitness goals before becoming
Olympians. Those who attained great wealth had to set financial goals
before becoming rich. The most successful singers, actors, writers,
and painters all had to set and strive for goals before making it big.
Even spiritual masters set goals to achieve great levels of holiness.
You see, one has to know what goal one is striving for in order to
choose the best means to achieving that end. If one doesn’t have a
goal in mind then that person is wandering aimlessly.
Setting goals focuses a person’s attention on a particular area to the
exclusion of other distracting thoughts and activities and gives a
person a touchstone on which to base decisions. Each choice can be
weighed against whether or not it contributes to or detracts from the
achievement of one’s purpose. Some choices, such as deciding which
pair of shoes to wear one day or the next, may not affect one’s goals
a whole lot. However, if one has set a financial goal of saving $1000
dollars this year, that may affect his or her decision to buy a new
pair of shoes.
So, what does all this have to do with your marriage or intimate
relationship? While many people have set goals for them self in one or
more areas of their life, not many people stop to reflect on what they
are trying to achieve in their marriage. For some reason we tend to
think that if we are well matched then our relationship will be
successful. However, it is more likely that such “well matched” people
based their marriage on some sense of purpose, whether they realized it
or not. When you think about the effect goal setting has on the
success of other endeavours it makes sense that some well thought out
marital goals will contribute to your success as a couple.
In order to set marital goals you must first figure out what your goals
are as individuals. Make sure some of your goals are ones that you can
continue to work on throughout your life. It may help to think about
how you want people to remember you at the end of your life. Do you
want to be remembered as a kind person? Do you want to be know as
someone who had a good sense of humour? Once you have set individual
goals you can set marital goals that include supporting each other in
achieving your individual goals.
Once you have come up with one or two shared goals each of you should
write them down, place them somewhere where you will see them often,
and review them frequently. Let these goals shape your relationship.
Decide what steps you have to take to reach your goals and enjoy your
newfound sense of purpose together.
Note: If you are interested in finding out more about Juliet Austin’s
work you can go to Juliet’s website at julietaustin.com www.julietaustin.com and
subscribe to her free newsletter, Enlightened Marketing, and get a
Free, 22 Page Report: “67 Surefire Ways to Attract Clients.”
Jean sees clients in her office in Fredericton, NB and offers telephone and online counselling. She can be reached at: 506-461-7279 jeanmackenzie.com jeanmackenzie.com