Prioritizing is an essential part of everyone’s life – whether or not they realize that they’re doing it. Every minute of every day, we’re ranking and giving priority to the various things we need or want to do, and making decisions based on the importance we give to each option.
This is true for work projects, hobbies, health, and so on… So why would it be any different with your marriage?
However you set your priorities, you can expect to see related results. If your marriage isn’t high on the list, you can’t expect it to thrive!
You might be wondering, though, how to prioritize even the few most important things in your life… How can you be sure you are choosing the right things to focus your time and energy on?
We believe that your home life priorities should actually be pretty simple:
1. Marriage
2. Children
3. Work
4. Family and Friends
It comes down to a pretty simple idea – if you’re making a marriage a priority each day, the level of stability and satisfaction you can achieve will spill over into the other areas of your life. Many people like to think that the kids should always be top priority, but in reality, if your relationship with your spouse isn’t in great shape, your parenting will suffer as well. The same is true for your job and your relationships with friends and family…
Your marriage is the closest relationship you have. Your spouse is the person you truly share your life with, and its quality is going to affect how you interact with the rest of the world. If you’re stressing about a nasty argument, fretting because you feel disconnected, frustrated about a dissatisfying sex life, and so on – you’ll take these problems with you to work, the stress will influence how you are with the kids, and it will consume your thoughts when you spend time with friends and family.
Marriages are such a major part of our lives that if they aren’t strong and healthy, nearly every other aspect of life is affected.
When you are making your marriage a priority, though, the good feelings also spill over! You’ll be more upbeat and more energetic, you’ll feel more connected to your whole family (which helps you be a better parent), you’ll be less distracted at work, and your interactions with friends and family will be all the more pleasant – all because you are happy, satisfied, and truly connected with your spouse. A strong marriage really does have a major impact on your entire life!
Now, within the context of your marriage, there are also plenty of things to prioritize – time spent together, minimizing conflict, sex life, and so on. Only you can know the specific areas of your marriage that need the most work – but like anything else, you have to selectively dedicate time and effort if you want things to change for the better.
With the New Year just begun, it’s the perfect time to reevaluate your priorities – and make sure your marriage is at the top of the list. Whatever could stand some improvement, put it front and center – and do everything you can to make your marriage the best it’s ever been!
For more advice on how to strengthen your marriage, check out the StrongMarriageNow System today!
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Dr. Dana Fillmore and Amy Barnhart, co-Founders, StrongMarriageNow.com