Do you and your spouse set aside time once a year to plan for the next 12 months? Making time together for planning, intention, and strategic thought as you move into the future together will bind you closer together and give you shared goals to work toward as a couple. We’ve found that there’s great value in pausing to talk about the direction you’re headed going forward.

The New Year’s celebration might be behind us already, but you don’t have to wait until next January to build a shared vision with your spouse. It’s never too late to dream and plan together, and the beauty is that you can choose any date to do that: your anniversary, a holiday that’s special to you both, or any “normal” day of the week.

To begin building your shared vision, it’s vital to ask yourselves the following three questions:

1. WHO ARE WE AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED AS A COUPLE?
This question isn’t about who you are as individuals, but rather, who you are as a married couple. It’s about your identity as a pair and your dreams for where your relationship is headed in the next year. Answering this question will help you chart your course, then navigate it successfully together.

It can be helpful to focus on where your relationship has been over the past year. If you want to trace back further, you can do that, too (this is especially helpful if you have never built a shared vision before).

Looking into the past will inform the road your relationship is on, and it can help you to identify aspects of, or patterns in, your relationship you need to change in order to set a healthier, happier course.

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