05 Jun Too Much Birthday
When our kids were young, they loved to read all kinds of books. In one phase, they just couldn’t get enough of the Berenstain Bears, a series (written by Copreneurs Stan and Jan Berenstain) featuring a grizzly bear family learning life lessons in everyday situations.
One of the stories became a saying around our house – “Too Much Birthday.” In the book, a nice, quiet, little birthday party turns into a big, crazy, over-the-top party and Sister Bear has a wound-up, sugar-fueled, full on meltdown. Life Lesson: Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.
As Copreneurs, we can relate. Sometimes we take on too many exciting projects. We get carried away with our good intentions. And sometimes, there’s just Too Much Togetherness.
Like us, you might have counted Togetherness as a “pro” on your list of pros and cons when you first went into business together. (We can talk about work whenever we want! We’ll be there for each other when the going gets tough! We’ll share office space and have lunch together every day!)
But of course, we learned early on that just because you’re joined in life and business, it doesn’t mean you’re joined at the hip. In fact, we found it was more important to have time on our own (and space of our own) than it was before we became Copreneurs.
So appreciate how good you are together. That’s healthy. But encourage each other in your separate pursuits, and respect each other’s individuality, too. Don’t try to squeeze out every last drop of togetherness. That would be too much.
This Week:
Work out the zones of time and space for “me” and “us.” What’s the right balance of togetherness and autonomy for your partnership?
Copreneurs need space – physical and emotional – as much or more than other couples.
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