Sunday, January 30, 2011

Resolutions for your Marriage, 2011

What’s the point of a marriage if you have to ‘work at it’? You get together because you love each other and then you just go on.’ Right? Wrong.

When you see life with rose-tinted glasses, you would probably believe in the above, but married a few years, you realize that things are not as rosy or simple and that ‘working at it’ is required. (Read: Stages of a Relationship). And many years down the line, you realize that it is indeed ‘hard work’.


But don’t get me wrong, it is not ‘hard’ hard work; the hard work can be fun too! It’s like working hard towards achieving something: climbing a hill to enjoy the beautiful view, working at a painting and sitting back and enjoying it when it’s on the wall or any of the activities where the journey – hard as it may seem sometimes, is as beautiful as the end.

It’s the same kind of hard work in a marriage. Here’s an idea, why don’t you start by making your New Year resolutions as a couple! Sit down together, brain storm about your marriage goals for the year, write it down and revisit the list throughout the year to stay on course!

Here are some tips:

1. What do you want in your marriage this year?

You probably would have discussed about your ideas of marriage before getting married, but it’s always good to revisit these ideas. And now it’s time to be specific. What is it specifically that you would like to do this year to get closer to your idea of marriage? Go on dates more often? Have late night chats every week? Start a hobby together? Go on a dream vacation? Or perhaps start a family? Even if some ideas seem out of reach at the moment, don’t discount them; give them a fair hearing, put them out on the table, that’s what this brainstorming session is all about.

2. Be specific.

If a holiday is on that list for both of you this year, break it into smaller goals, maybe how much money you would have to save every month for it, or who is going to take charge of the bookings and other arrangements? Or schedule your work life keeping the dates in mind. Make sure your break down your resolutions into specific workable goals.

3. Re-visit your goals.

It’s easier said than done. It’s easy to get everything on paper, but not quite as easy when it comes to honoring it. To help you stick to your goals, take a printout of the list and stick it on the wall or the fridge – any common place. That way you get to see it every day and it’s somewhere in the periphery of your consciousness. You’ll find this method helps, especially when our days get increasingly crammed with hundreds of activities.

4. Hold each other accountable.

Make sure your resolution has someone assigned to each activity. That way, you know who is doing what and also who is slipping up. If you see your partner slacking, point it out to her and help her stay on course.

5. Enjoy the fruits.

At the heart of this list, remember the journey should be as enjoyable as the goal. Make sure the activities don’t become arduous, enjoy the journey. And if you feel that at some point it is becoming burdensome, talk to your partner about it.

And remember, honor your resolution!

1 comment:

  1. I guess I might not exactly be qualified to even post a comment here as I am not married yet this is what I think - Right / Wrong!

    Any relationship goes through a lot of phases and we give a lot of importance to the relationship called marriage alone. The same could happen to anyone living under the same roof anytime! But I am not sure how relationships can be timed with new year resolutions kind of thing because it s hard to change into a flexible mode unless both parties are interested. One needs to get back, space out revisit their space and then come together to check out the common space...for themselves and nt for just the world. Because the world can never be a happ place when self is unhappy. one might say this isa single's opinion and space has come into picture, I'd only say when one cares for the other enough then its doable, when one doesnt..then nothing entirely works. it boil down to the simple fact - LOVE.

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