You can teach old dog’s new tricks!
In November my wife Karen and I experienced our first annual “Couples Goal Setting Retreat” using the 1Thing framework and it was powerful. First time we had ever sat down and really talked through what we want our lives to look like in 5 years and at the end of 2019. The framework for discussion is the 7 areas of life per The 1 thing starting with Spiritual Life, Physical Health, Personal Life, Key Relationships, Job, Business and Personal Financial. Setting goals in these areas, in writing, then determining actions to take to reach those goals is a process and we are now tweaking things as we move forward.
Here is how our Weekend went. Drive in Friday afternoon to Anchorage (listened to a podcast about the process on the way (https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/163/ ). Relaxed and had dinner, enjoyed the evening then got started after breakfast Saturday. Now my wife was telling herself “what the heck is he trying to make me do this time and I just want to relax”. A good first step and how we began was to start by laying out our time off-travel for the whole year. This gets the ice broken and really, if you just do this, together, it’s a win!
Then we started working on the 7 areas of life starting with Spiritual. Here is a link to a free guide that really helps. https://www.the1thing.com/resources/kick-ass-guide-to-your-couples-goal-setting-retreat/
I can’t lie and say it is an easy process. I learned some things about Karen I never knew and there were a few tears shed for both of us. Time flew by and we took a break for dinner, did a little bit more after, then gave it up for the night. Emotional day for sure. We got up and spent the morning revising and ended up with the beginning of a plan & mutual agreement about the goals and actions we could take in each of the 7 areas of life (and a schedule for the year!).
Fast forward to now and I just put the final (somewhat:-) version in writing. There will no doubt be changes and areas that fall short. The beautiful thing is that we look forward to the future much more now, by living a life by design, having more clarity of our shared vision & acting in order of priority.
There is a retreat mastery course ($495) put together by the 1 thing folks that I am sure is great. https://training.the1thing.com/optin-21899123 If any of these links don’t work, you can find these and much, much more at www.the1thing.com
Another great resource is Michael Hyatt. He really knows the goal setting process, has written some great books and is one of my must listen podcasts. https://michaelhyatt.com/ They use the SMARTER goal setting framework which we try to use as well to keep the goals focused. Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Risky, Time Keyed, Exciting and Relevant (VERY important in my view).
If you want a calendar for the year let me know and I can send that, a copy of my 7 circles of life worksheet and a guide. Would love to hear how it goes for you and it doesn’t matter when you start! Any steps we take in having a clear vision of our goals-priorities is better than nothing. I am happy to share/discuss our progress and help anyone that asks!