What is it about bringing this up that feels like a struggle for you? 

Is it a worry about how your Co-Founder might react? Or is it more about a discomfort you feel when you have these reflective conversations with your Co-Founder?

Understanding what exactly here feels like a struggle is key, so ask yourself that question. 

Also take a minute to view this as a business owner, separate to your Co-Founder dynamic. How do you want to behave and show up for yourself? Yes, you’re part of a team, but you’re also an individual who gets to decide who you are as a business owner.

If you want to be someone who expresses their wants and needs (constructively!) then here’s a great opportunity to start bringing that into your Co-Founder partnership. If that feels like a struggle, how can you make that feel easier? 

Prep yourself for the conversation with some talking points, make sure you’re really clear on the boundaries that you want to communicate. Then set aside some time to talk about it in the right environment and at an appropriate time. This is also a two way dialogue and both voices are equally important, so ask what your Co-Founder’s communication boundaries are and understand why.

Know that your feelings are never silly, they’re totally valid. It’s important to realise that you need to switch off and how you can do that.

Taking responsibility for responding to messages is a key step here, so try and break that habit. Ask yourself why you always respond? What do you think it says about yourself if you don’t respond?

Yes, there’s an element of acceptance here, but perhaps you could view it differently. You can accept that you’re both two individuals who will naturally do things differently. But you don’t need to accept that you can’t evolve things that aren’t working for you. You have the power to communicate and find a solution that’s best for both of you.