Patience and timing are good for lots of things. They’re helpful in big decision-making. It can make a difference when it comes to approaching sticky situations.

But sometimes patience and timing can work against you when it comes to hard conversations. Especially when patience starts to look like avoidance and perfect timing starts to look like willful reluctance.

I get that hard conversations are hard to have. But they’re also really necessary.  

When you avoid or delay hard conversations, the issues don’t shrink. Not by a long shot. Not only do they grow, but so do frustration and resentment.

The longer you take to address something, the more difficult it’s going to be to find a middle road. 

 So what’s the best way to get to it?

• Name it.  Yup, admit to yourself (and your mate) that you need to address an issue/concern/situation.
  
  

• Invite each other.  Ask to set a time and a place to actually talk about it. Pick a time when both of you are at your most grounded and well-rested (and fed). Choose a place that feels neutral, like your living room couch or outdoor patio. Somewhere you feel comfortable to talk openly but also not confined by the space or energy in the room.
  
  

• Be accountable.  Be jointly responsible for showing up and getting to it. Don’t make it one person’s responsibility to remind the other of what needs to happen. Mark your calendar, put a reminder in your phone, and set an alarm. Whatever it takes for both of you to be accountable.

Use these suggestions or tweak them to better fit your relationship.  Regardless, take the time to get those hard conversations underway and start seeing the growth that comes from actually getting to it. 

You got this.

-A

P.S. Need additional support on all things communication? Then now is the time to enroll in the Communication Masterclass.  Follow this link for additional information and registration.