You remember the Back to the Future movies, right? Well, today I’m asking you to put on your Marty McFly puffy vest, get in the Delorean, and go forward in your life to age 70.
Now that you are seeing your 70-year-old self, take a good look. What is important to her?
I’m willing to bet that one of the first answers you come up with is relationships—her marriage, her children, her friends.
And I’m pretty sure the 20 something, 30 something, and 40 something you would feel the same way. When it comes right down to it, our relationships matter most.
Total confession here, I am much better at putting projects first. So, having better relationships is one of my top goals this year.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to improve my marriage, have a closer bond with my children, and deepen friendships, which is why I wanted to focus on how to have better relationships this month.
How to Have a Better Relationship with Anyone
Who do you want a better relationship with?
Define exactly which relationships you want to focus on. Is it your relationship with your husband? Your kids? Your parents or grandparents? Siblings or friends? Don’t be vague here. Every relationship is different because there are different people involved, so be specific about who you want to focus on.
What are you going to do?
This is the time to brainstorm exactly what you will do to have a better relationship. Will you read a book about marriage or parenting and try three new things it advises? Will you schedule a regular date night with your husband? Will you FaceTime relatives who live far away weekly? Will you call your grandparents monthly? Will you invite a friend over that you would like to get closer to? The ideas are endless.
When will you make time to work on the relationship?
I have found that if I want to get something done, I need to put it on my calendar. Because what gets scheduled, gets done. Don’t just say, “We need to get together sometime,” or “We should video chat soon.” Set a date and time right then.
How will you make more space in your life for this relationship?
We only have so many hours in a day, and most of us already have full days. Focusing on relationships takes time. So what will you say no to or stop doing in order to have time to work on this relationship?
Why is it important to make this relationship better?
Life happens. Your schedule will get crazy, you will be tired, you will want to veg out and watch Netflix. That’s when you need to remind yourself why you are working on this relationship to begin with. Do you want a marriage that is still strong when your hair is gray? (Not that I will ever allow my hair to be gray.) Do you want your kids to like you when they are grown and out of the house? Those are your whys that keep you going.
Like I said before, I am certainly no expert on this, and I will be going through this process too.
Both building new and bettering our current relationships takes intention and time. Luckily, I have a FREE guide with 25 ways to help you find more time. You can get it here.
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