I’m writing this article as my family is driving through West Texas on the way to California for vacation. As we pass mile after mile of wide-open spaces interspersed with cornfields and grazing cattle, the deadlines and hectic pace of everyday life are far behind. The thought occurs to me that taking a break is essential and beneficial for all areas of life.

Your love relationship can suffer when you and or your partner become bogged down with the multiple demands of family responsibilities, pleasing your boss, stretching your money and just dealing with the challenges of life in a stress filled world.

Begin your day with purpose

It’s easy to fall into a mindless routine of getting up, rushing through the morning activities – breakfast, get ready for work or school, rush out the door and into traffic, then make it into work just in the nick of time. Then it’s time to jump into the schedule of meetings, tasks and to-do lists, and so it goes until it’s the end of the day and you leave work only to rush to complete after work activities, you get the idea.

Not only does this kind of pace wreak havoc on you it also takes its toll on your relationships. Do yourself, your love relationship and your family life a favor and begin your day with purpose.

Set aside about 10 minutes soon after you wake up, choose some place that is quiet and take a few moments just to breathe and relax. These few precious minutes will be your place for gaining your inspiration for the day and framing your mind to step into your day with intention and mental energy. Read or listen to inspirational material, meditate and pray. The sense of purpose and mental energy you gain will help keep you afloat when you are confronted with the multitude of little annoyances throughout the day.

Keep the Sabbath

Regardless of your religious beliefs, it is wise to heed the words of the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath. The idea is to set aide one day during the week for rest, appreciating your blessings and rejuvenating your mind. Without this important mental, physical and spiritual break, you can become bogged down in your thinking, as well as physically exhausted. You will find that you’ve lost your creative edge, your ability to be innovative. In your relationships you may find that you are irritable, this can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Clarify then align yourselves with your goals

Whenever you drive to a new destination, more than likely you plot your route and check your progress by relying on your GPS or an old-school map. Your love relationship is an unfolding journey that works best when you and your partner share joint goals and make an effort to work together in order to accomplish those goals. Just as you would when you’re on a road trip, you and your partner need to agree on your destination, which translates into your mutual goals, and make sure that you are working together effectively.

Without a clear vision, you can easily become distracted and disillusioned by day-to-day challenges that lead you to wonder if your relationship was really meant to be. To make sure this doesn’t happen to your love relationship set-aside time to discuss the goals you want to accomplish as a couple. Write them down. Decide on the steps that you will need to take to accomplish those goals, agree on a timeline. It is great to dream big, but it’s also important to set goals that are realistic. It helps to divide your long-term goals into measurable sub-goals so that you gain a sense of accomplishment as you move gradually towards your ultimate dreams. Every three months take time to check in with each other to see how you are progressing. This gives you a chance to make adjustments as life unfolds.

How does the wear and tear of your daily life affect your relationship? What changes will you make to bring greater purpose and energy to your life and your love relationship? Have you and your partner discussed your goals and are you working together to accomplish them? Here’s your opportunity to make some changes. Leave a comment below and tell me one thing that you are going to do differently to recharge yourself and your love relationship.