Don’t Keep the Peace 

I

guess you could say I’m like everyone else; I don’t like to have difficult conversations. But I needed to do this. People were relying on me. My boss relied on me. My team relied on me. And my conscience? Let’s just say it wasn’t staying quiet.

I sat at my desk that Tuesday morning of the awkward conversation, staring at my coffee getting cold, knowing exactly what I needed to do. But instead of picking up the phone or walking down the hall, I found myself checking emails that didn’t need checking, organizing files that were already organized.

I understood why I was avoiding having this conversations. Nobody wakes up thinking, “You know what would make my day perfect? A really uncomfortable talk with someone I care about.” We tell ourselves we don’t want to hurt feelings, or we’re afraid of making things worse, or maybe, if we’re really honest, we’re just hoping the problem will somehow fix itself.

But here’s what I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way: Avoiding conversations that need to be had almost always costs more than having it.