What kinds of goals can we establish in the area of our relationships as we approach 2013? Maybe the idea of goals in regards to relationships is the wrong way to approach it. That is unless you are single and have a goal to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right. That is a good goal to have!
Maybe a better way to approach our relationships as we move towards the New Year is to evaluate them. How would we rate our priority relationships? If we are married, what can we do to improve our relationship with our spouse in the coming year? What are one or two things that we can do to show our husband or wife that they are important to us? Is there something that we can do differently in 2013? Here are a couple of examples:
- If you have small kids, try to get off early once a week to come home and relieve the wife so that she can have a break. If you can’t leave work early, maybe offer to keep them on a Saturday morning so she can go off for a little while.
- How about starting a new healthy habit as a couple? It might be something as simple as establishing a regular date night. It might mean getting back in church together. It might mean committing to take at least one vacation together a year.
If you are a parent, what is one new thing that you can do with your children in 2013? What might be a good habit to start with your kids? When is the last time you sat down and read a book to your children? Our children need us to spend time with them. The only we that parents can influence their kids is to be with them and around them on a regular basis.
In evaluating our relationships, it is important to be honest with ourselves. What do we do about those unhealthy relationships that we might be in? I think that we often feel a sense of loyalty to people that we have been friends with for a long time. That is fine and good if we are going in the same direction. The tension comes when I am trying to go somewhere with my life and that old friend is still mired in the the 90’s and their life is going nowhere.
I’m not saying that we should dump all of our old friends. I am saying that as a new year approaches, this is a great time to evaluate all of our relationships. Let’s not let misplaced loyalty cause us to continue investing our time and energy into relationships that are going in opposite directions.
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