How to Decide It’s Time to Make a Break…
Have you been feeling stuck and questioning a situation or relationship? Does it feel like no matter what you do or say, things just keep getting worse? Perhaps it is time to make a break from this situation! You’ve come to the point where you need to make a decision.
Not every relationship, whether it’s business or a personal one, is meant to last forever. Some partnerships start off well but over time things change. The company evolves and you see things in different ways. Or maybe your friend is no longer interested in the same things you are. Or your love relationship isn’t what it used to be.
How do you know it’s time to make a break? Usually the signs are there if you look for them. Here are some typical signs to look for:
1. The respect and trust you have for each other has begun to fade. You based your relationship on respect and trusting the other person. There are many reasons you might lose respect for them. It could be your business partner’s skills aren’t what they said they were. You could have lost trust in the situation when your friend constantly lied to you. It could be you’ve heard things from your friends about your love relationship that have you questioning their respect for you.
2. The lines of communication have broken down. You no longer talk to each other. Your conversations consist of a text message or email occasionally. Or you only talk through others. In a business partnership, the talks have moved from business to personal. Every conversation you have with your love relationship ends in an argument.
3. Your skills and interests no longer complement each other. It might be one of you has gained skills in your business partnership that makes the other one obsolete. You and your friend no longer share the same interests. Your love relationship has taken an interest in things that aren’t in line with your values.
4. Money is an issue. You disagree on how to spend money. You and your business partner want to use resources in different ways. You might want to reinvest in the business, and he or she may want to take out a larger profit. Your love relationship wants to go out and spend money frivolously when you want to save it.
5. You think you put more into the relationship that they do. You think you work harder than your business partner. You work all the time but your partner takes extra-long lunches and continually shows up late. You are the one to always contact your friend about getting together but they always put you off.
6. You want different things. Your partner wants to work on the same projects as you, or you disagree on the direction you want the company to grow in. You want to take your love relationship to a new level but your partner doesn’t.
7. You just know it’s not right anymore. You know instinctively that the relationship is not working any more. There might not be anything specifically wrong but you just don’t connect with them anymore.
8. You feel miserable most of the time. In the beginning of your business relationship you always laughed and worked out disagreements amicably but no longer. You spend more time fighting, arguing, and being disappointed and annoyed than loving, enjoying and wanting to spend time with the relationship.
Once you start trusting your feelings and start looking at the signs, you know it’s time to make a decision on whether you want the situation to continue. Trust your instincts and weigh your options.
