The courage to say “this isn’t working” in a relationship can save both people a lot of time.

Staying in something that has quietly stopped working often gets called kindness, and some of it is really fear of being the one who says it. Either way the cost is time, and it lands on both of you. The conversation is hard for an evening. Drifting for months is hard the entire way through, and it leaves the other person with far less information than they deserved.

If you already know, say it in person, simply, without a list of their faults. One clear sentence about where you are is more respectful than a slow fade.