In a recent edition of my #thursdaythoughts series on LinkedIn, I talked about some parallels between a new weighted vest I purchased to wear during workouts and facing heavy conversations.

Facing difficult conversations is always a challenge in the workplace and our personal lives, but as we head into 2025, the topic is more timely than ever.

In a recent study, Atana reported that:

• Only 24 percent of employees reported confronting challenging situations at work
• 53 percent deal with difficult situations by ignoring them

The impact? Companies are spending billions of dollars annually by avoiding the challenging conversations vs. doing the work.

The real story? The conflict eventually gets resolved, but it is often not in a productive way and causes damage to team morale and productivity.

No Pain, No Gain

Adding weight to myself as I walk or workout isn’t my idea of fun, but I hope to reap the rewards in the long-term because the old adage holds true: no pain, no gain.

The same is true for the hard conversations you need to have with a peer, your manager, your employee, a client … or even yourself.

After we’ve purchased a “weighted vest” (or we have had the dreaded heavy conversation), we often move on, going back to what’s easier.

My challenge to you (and myself) is to keep investing in your future. Keep doing the harder thing that you know is better for you and/or your team. Don’t wait until it’s review season next year to face and have the more difficult conversations that will lead to a better outcome in the long run.