If the romantic relationship has been brief—only a few dates or lasting just a couple of weeks— you don't need to belabor the breakup, of course. You don't owe deep explanations to someone you hardly know. To end a new, light, or casual romance, you can simply say, "This doesn't feel right to me," or "It's not a good time for me now." You must still be kind, still be civil, but you don't need to bare your soul.
Remember, life is full of surprises. Be kind to those you are letting go. In the long run, it's being kind to yourself. —Hara Estroff Marano
Babbler on Line 1
You're on the phone, and your friend won't stop talking about her office drama. "Oh my god, I cannot believe Cindy took my stapler again! And she's having an affair." Mayday! How to escape?
"Simple and direct is best," Anna Post of the Emily Post Institute says. "Just break in, say, 'Listen, I'm really sorry, I gotta go—let me call you back. Is that OK?' " You don't need to give details, and if your friend asks for an explanation, feel free to be vague and simply say it's not a good time. Whatever you do, don't lie, Post insists, because if you get caught with no scars to show for that surprise wolverine attack, "it's going to be 10 times worse than if you just said, 'Gotta go, bye,' and hung up the phone."
No one wants to feel like a jerk, but remember that manipulating someone's time is rude, too. "This sounds silly but you might actually practice," by leaving yourself voice messages to see how you sound, Post says. "But honestly, the best way to psych yourself up is to take a deep breath and bite the bullet."
As a last resort, try the old standby: fake static sounds with your mouth. —Matthew Hutson
How to Complete a Work of Art
Picasso had no problem starting or finishing a canvas—his battle cry was "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." But in this, as in most things, Picasso was the exception. For many creative types, signing off on an endeavor is as tough as getting started (or getting funded). People hang on to their work in part because they think their best self will be on permanent display in every latticework gate and three-page story. Multiply that a hundredfold and you've got an artist whose entire ego is invested in a piece.
"People think what they've created reflects their absolute worth right then and there," Barry Lubetkin points out.
"It really does take courage to say, 'OK, this track is done, it's ready to have its own life," says Hans Biorn Lian, an award-winning composer. "Early in my career I was asked by two prominent percussionists to write a piece for them. I was incredibly flattered and accepted but ended up not completing the piece, as I was scared they wouldn't like it. I should obviously just have gone ahead!"
The keys to artistic output are passion and dispassionate objectivity; with experience, people learn when they've entered the domain of diminishing creative returns—tweaking a work simply to make it more commercial,
or because they're avoiding a new,
blank canvas.
Kill the Great American Novel fantasy. Figure out whether you're placing unrealistic demands on yourself and catastrophizing about other people's reactions. Not every piece can be a pièce de résistance.
Demand Feedback. This helps short-circuit the perfectionist trap. Biorn Lian says, "I'm happy letting work go when a person whose work I really respect tells me it's done."
Work to a Deadline. If that's not realistic, break the work into small projects and give yourself mini-deadlines.
Be Kind to Yourself. Getting frustrated by failure to complete a project will only exacerbate the anxiety and self-deprecation surrounding the task.
Get out of Your Own Head. Resist the urge to withdraw into your work; people who take breaks for socializing and hobbies are forced to conform to an outside schedule, which keeps procrastination in check and underscores the fact that there's more to life than your project. —Kaja Perina
Breaking up—often with houses, bank accounts, children, and pets long-enmeshed—can be a legal as well as emotional nightmare. The ideal, of course, is to operate completely in the open and to cooperate with each other in full. The reality is that divorce often erupts amid a firestorm of anger or years of pent-up hostility, preventing needed months of gentle, compassionate exchange. Other times, economic stakes are so high that adversarial proceedings are virtually guaranteed. In such instances, divorce lawyers suggest you operate with your strategic, not your emotional, brain. Those anticipating conflict should get ducks in a row before their partner knows they may be out the door, divorce lawyers say. Here are a few tips from legal eagles:
