Maintain Relationships | Year of Living Lovely Project | October Goals

The fourth and final quarter of 2018 has begun! It has been a whirlwind of a year. October is one of my favorite months of the year because the autumn foliage is beginning to change and its often warm enough that you only need a light sweater to enjoy the great outdoors. I also love October because the busyness of summer and the “back to school season” of September is officially behind us, which means I usually have much more time for fun with my friends. Activities like apple picking, autumn festivals and fairs, and Halloween celebrations all means more time for friendships. 

I decided to dedicate a whole month of my Year of Living Lovely Project to maintaining friendships, because like all aspects of our lives, our relationships deserve proper maintenance. This could mean friendships, our relationship with our significant other, with co-workers or our peers, as well as our families. For those of you that don’t know, my Year of Living Lovely Project is a year long project consisting of simple monthly goals that relate to different aspects of my life. The goal is to live a lovelier life right now and I hope that you will join me on the journey. Many of us all have that friend we haven’t seen in a while but think about regularly and wonder how they are. So this month, I want to encourage you to reach out, reforge those friendships, and give proper maintenance to all of your relationships. 

October Goals : Maintain Relationships

1. Diagnose what ails your relationships; for me, I have such a large family (and my husband does as well) that finding time to commit to everyone is one great juggling act. My weekends can book up months in advance. Sadly, because of this, some of my friendships get pushed back. The first step in maintaining these great friendships is understanding what is blocking my ability to be fully present so that I can work on it and learn when to say yes and when to say no to meeting up. 
2. Call an old friend or send out an e-mail. There is a good friend of mine from way back in high school that I haven’t had a full conversation with in a while. I was thinking about this particular person the other day because during high school they did many kind things that I am grateful for. I want to reach out and let this person know how much I appreciated their kindness back then and still do today. Who are you going to reach out to? 
3. Plan a face-to-face visit with someone special that you haven’t seen in a while; go out for coffee, dinner, or on a hike. Have a movie night. Whatever it is, make sure you spend quality time with this person (your mom, your cousin, your wife/ husband, an old friend, etc.) without the distraction of your phone.