There's no phrase more Kiwi than "she'll be right."
The car's making a funny noise? She'll be right. The tent's got a hole in it? She'll be right. Number 8 wire, a bit of duct tape and a good attitude, and off we go.
Love it. Optimistic. Unfussy. Gets things done.
Until it sneaks into our conversations.
"She'll be right" is brilliant for fixing a fence. It's terrible for fixing a relationship.
And we do it constantly. The meeting got tense? She'll be right. A colleague's gone quiet? She'll be right. That comment's been bugging you for a week? Ah, she'll be right.
Sometimes she is. Often she isn't. And the small thing we didn't say becomes the big thing we can't.
Making it right doesn't need a big sit-down. It needs four small moves:
Check in. "Hey, are you ok? Or is everything all good?"
Notice it. "That's been sitting with me."
Name it. "Things felt a bit off after Tuesday."
Mend it. "Can we have five minutes?"
Start with the check-in. Thirty seconds, no drama. Sometimes the answer is "yep, all good," and you both carry on. Sometimes it opens the door you didn't know was shut.
"She'll be right" keeps the peace. "Let's make it right" keeps the relationship.
