One of the biggest events of the year is on the horizon: the Super Bowl, the most-watched sporting event in America. As the Big Game of 2015 draws near, consider taking some game day tips and applying them to benefit your own relationship.
N – Nurture a Shared Goal
Like any sports team, the singular goal of the organization and its players is to win. All the hours of commitment dedicated to organizing, practicing, and perfecting are for that one objective. And like a sports team, a relationship requires that same commitment to its goal.
This is where you may be asking, “What is the goal of a relationship?” Is it to get your way? Or perhaps to have someone tend to your needs or to take care of you?
Ask yourself why you’ve chosen to be with your partner. Is it because you want to bring them the same joy they bring you? Maybe they enrich your life in a ways you never imagined? Because they make you better? Any of these things is, and should be, a shared goal in a relationship.
In order to become Super Bowl champions, players of the team need to work together. They each recognize the part they play in reaching that goal. Not only do football players do their own job, they also cover for their teammates if one of them is down. Their duties are to work together on and off the field. If there’s every any discord within that group, there is trouble. Not only does discord blur the vision of the goal, but it’s unlikely you’ll make it to where you’re headed.
So consider your intentions, think about your goal, and focus on how you can work together to reach wherever you plan on going.
F – Fight for Your Relationship
Like in football, you’ll find that you meet setbacks in your own relationship. You’ll stumble, you’ll fumble. There may be some penalties you receive along the way. On the field, there is another group entirely committed to making sure you don’t win.
In our relationships, we’re faced with more than a share of daily stress, including demands of our own careers, families, and friends. Relationships can fall apart by unfulfilled or unrealistic expectations, ill-fated circumstances, or foolish choices. Remember that relationships shouldn’t be work, but you should fight to ensure your commitment is honest and true. You should fight to provide your partner a loving environment and support-system. Without your will to give and be present, you can’t and won’t win the game.
L – Lead with Love and Respect
Every team has a coach, a leader who knows that success can only be achieved with a strong sense of purpose, passion, and hard-work. In a relationship, you and your partner are the leaders of your team. Your relationship is won or lost on your ability and willingness to lead and carry out your game plan.
So lead. Lead with love—love for yourself, love for your partner. Lead with respect—respect your relationship, respect its ups and its down. Exhibit love, respect, strength, and leadership in your commitment to the goal, and enjoy the victories of a strong relationship.
The idea of winning, in the Super Bowl or relationship, is important because it aims at improving skills, obtaining wisdom, and giving 100%. Not just to yourself, but to your teammate in life. To be a winning team, you need an unwavering and enduring commitment to your shared goal. Now ask yourself: Are you as determined to win the Super Bowl of relationships?
