Intentional Drift Control

Overview

Imagine you and your partner board a direct flight to this resort in St. Lucia. After you take off, some turbulence pushes the plane 1-degree off course.

When you de-board the plane, you’re in Antarctica. (WTF?!) 🤯 
The pilot never adjusted the plane’s direction after being knocked off course.

In your relationship, you’re the pilot.
You’re trusted to keep it on course.

Issue(s)

It's normal to want to use cruise control in your relationship.
Life can be challenging, and it would be great to relax and let things run on auto-pilot with your partner; I get it!

But if you don’t pay attention to your relationship, you might overlook little things that cause friction and push it off track. Things that seem small or unimportant can actually become a big deal if you ignore them.

Analysis:

One incremental force to your relationship will add up over time. If that force is negative, it will push you further from your partner or your goals.

The longer you wait to address an issue - whether it’s distance between you and your partner or distance between you and your partner’s relationship goals - the greater the effort it may take to get back on track.

Examples of negative forces:

• demanding work hours/overtime that reduces time together

• agreeing to goals and not attempting them

• missed date nights

• fixed mindsets

Solution:

Use positive forces to control the drift of your relationship and put it back on its rightful path.

Your positive force might be:

• A nudge: a simple and gentle reminder or check-in to help realign goals or expectations.

• a big task: a significant effort, like dedicating a whole weekend to figuring out the main problem, finding solutions, and reconnecting.

The keys to controlling drift are:

• Be proactive about cultivating relationship alignment.

• Be quick to respond when alignment drifts off course.

Action:

Practice positively nudging your relationship today.
Have a pulse check with your partner and ask:

• Have you felt disconnected from me recently? Tell me about it.

• Do you feel I’m aligned with your vision of our relationship?

• Are we on track to obtain our relationship goals this year?

• What can we do to get in sync with our relationship?

Conclusion:

Even if cruise control is on, you still must keep your hands on the wheel
and steer the plane.

🎯 We’re winding up Q1 2024. What drift control can you take today to help you and your partner stay on track to achieve your goals?

Let’s thrive together,

Michelle @ Partnership Pulse

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