Success at home must come before success at work. Too often leaders know this but end up practicing the converse. So what are your goals to keep your family at the top of your list in 2024, your goals for your marriage, children, and your family as a whole?
Pray over these goals, write them down, then create time with your spouse to compare notes and edit them together. Below are some prompts for you to consider as you write your 2024 family goals. I share some goals that Joanne and I have created. (She gave me the thumbs up to share these with you).
By the way, I categorized all of my 2024 goals according to seven categories: 1. Health, 2. Marriage, 3. Parenting/Family, 4. Growth, 5. Spiritual, 6. My Leadership, and 7. My team at work. Use these categories or change them to make your own.
Marriage Goals
- Time with Your Spouse When Both Are Rested—The key word is rested. Many talk about having a weekly date. A few years ago, my wife Joanne and I tried having a weekly date. We got a babysitter, planned nice outings, made reservations, all of it. The experiment failed. Why? In the evenings, we are both tired after my work day and Joanne’s day of managing the family. We ended up talking mostly about kid-related issues, and both of us really just wanted to hurry home to rest. Then, rather than an evening date, one morning, we carved out time to go to breakfast alone, and we loved it. In the morning we are both rested physically and mentally. How can you create regular, alone, unhurried time when you are both rested and ready to connect?
- Get Away with Your Spouse—This is a time of extended connection. It could be a 24-hour get-away in the town where you live up to a few days for an out-of-town trip. Joanne and I enjoy an occasional 24-hour get-away to the hotel where we got married, The Four Seasons. However, to be candid, it has been a struggle for us to pull off, so we are going to make a more concerted effort to do this in 2024. Might you consider a quarterly get-away for one to three days without the kids in 2024?
- Spiritual Time with Your Spouse—Growing in faith together is crucial. Could you come up with a way to connect daily on a spiritual level? In 2024, Joanne and I agree to meet daily to pray and share what we reflected on in our daily devotional time.
- Social Time with Your Spouse—Much richness can be added to your relationship when you are out together as a couple. Of course, this depends on your level of social preference. Are you going out on a double-date with close friends? Do you host people in your home? Do you go with groups of friends to do an activity everyone enjoys?
- Growth of Your Spouse—Are you taking an interest in the growth of your spouse? I see so many leaders launching into the stratosphere with their own growth while leaving their spouse in the dust. This must not be so, for many reasons. First, your spouse should be the most important player on your life journey. Second, if one person is growing and the other is not, a natural rift will begin to form. This is a leadership principle I learned long ago: Take people to the top with you. Don’t go up there alone. I aim to apply this both at work and at home.
Parenting Goals
- Have one-on-one time with each child—Togetherness is huge, and it is a must. However, do you also make one-on-one time with each child?
- Have a plan for each child—Have you taken time to create a vision for your child? Together with your spouse, give thought and prayer to your child’s health, activities, spiritual growth, and social connections.
- Prepare Your Child to Be Independent—Are you preparing your child to be independent of you or dependent on you? My brother shared this video with me recently, and it struck a chord. I wanted to pass it along to you.
Family Goals
- Define Your Family Values—Make a list of four to ten behaviors or principles you and your spouse want to focus on as the core of your family values. After they are defined, make them a part of the conversations within your family. If you are not sure what I mean by a family value, refer to this recent article I wrote for some inspiration.
- Family Trips and Experiences—What trips or experiences can you make in 2024 to create memories and give experiences to your family? Remember that people cannot be what they do not see. If you want your children to be something or someone, create an opportunity for them to see it in person and in action.
I hope the above ideas helped prompt you to start thinking about your 2024 family goals.
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