![]() ![]() ![]() Step three was to put up an A3 formatted white paper on the wall, draw a timeline from 2006 till 2011 – yes, we were going to plan out the next five years of our life! – and arrange our couple goals in a meaningful way to our life’s “game plan”. All goals were open to debate, yet at the same time we tried to figure how to best help each other achieving them going forward! Our aim was to work together as a couple. We both got the same number of stickynotes. (To meet certain goals, we had to accomplish others first.) During this process, we tried to keep things fair. Next, we organized those dreams in terms of feasibility, urgency, and requirements. We each wrote down what was important to us, stuff we’d like to achieve, skills we’d like to acquire - in short, what we’d like to do with our lives in the next few years. This mother of all brainstorming sessions took us half an hour. In order to conceptualize our thoughts and concerns, we decided to write down all of our dreams and goals on yellow stickynotes. Everything seemed possible! Nothing was certain! Anything could happen! Our lives three months ahead were like a blank slate. How could we both be as happy as possible together?.We let our imaginations loose as we talked about how we could potentially live our lives together. The wine was an effective dream enhancer. For my part, I’d just received an offer for my dream job - but it meant I'd have to move back to Switzerland. My girlfriend had just graduated from college and was working in her first job. Before long, we'd switched from sweet nostalgia to dreaming about our potential future - together. We opened a bottle of fine wine in order to enhance the depth and wisdom of our conversation. But it dawned on us that if we didn't make some bold moves, our relationship might be coming to an end. We waxed nostalgic about the two years we'd enjoyed together. On a pleasant weekend evening in my downtown flat, my Taiwanese girlfriend and I were reminiscing about all of the wonderful memories we'd made. Soon, I'd be returning home to Switzerland. In the spring of 2006, I'd been living and working in Taipei, Taiwan for two years and my contract was about to expire. This is Matt's story about creating a shared vision as a couple. “Will you write about it for Get Rich Slowly?” He did. As we talked - and became pleasantly buzzed - he told me about how he and his wife tackle couple goals together via five-year plans for their future. He brought Swiss chocolate and a bottle of whisky. The stars aligned so that Matt was able to join us for several hours on a train across the Alps. “If you come through Switzerland, let me know,” he said. Before I left, I received email from a GRS reader named Matthias. Last December, I took a trip to Europe with my cousin Duane. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |