Conflict Resolution StrategiesTry these Conflict Resolution Strategies and enjoy yourself while dealing with disagreements. Build your relationship skills. By learning the secrets of resolving conflict painlessly. Just remember that conflict is a normal part of life. Unfortunately, we sometimes act as though any kind of wrinkle in our relationships is like the end of the world. Many people were raised in families where problems were avoided, mishandled or blown out of proportion. Ineffective ways of dealing with disagreements were passed down from generation to generation. Family members learned to avoid the resulting distress because it was painful to face it. In alcoholic homes, for instance, conflict is often avoided or dealt with in an angry manner. Disagreements routinely escalate into full scale battles where the eventual outcome is unpredictable, depending on the alcoholic’s mood or level of intoxication. The children are often traumatized by the fighting. When those children grow up, they often have poor communication skills. And they repeat the patterns they witnessed in their families of origin, ill‑affecting their adult relationships, as well as their relationships with their children. The Good SideConflict Resolution Strategies will show that conflict actually has its positive side.
When we see the constructive aspects of conflict, we no longer have to fear or dread it so much. View it as a kind of growing pain. A pain that can bring people closer together and give them a sense of confidence in their ability to deal with adversity and disagreements in a positive way. Also, believe it or not, it can be an enjoyable process, if we perceive it that way. Avoid BlamingIn many relationships, people have to blame someone for the problem. It's always someone's fault. In fact, they can get obsessed with the notion that the guilty party must be exposed and punished.Just think of the excessive amounts of energy some people expend trying to prove the case against the guilty party. It’s a matter of deciding who is right and wrong. It's always judge and jury time. It is time to be critical. If we spent half as much time taking responsibility for our role in the conflict as we spend placing blame, we could resolve the situation quickly and move on. When no one is placing blame, it's much easier to settle a relationship problem without really trying. Instead of pointing the finger at someone, we can take the initiative and admit our own contribution to the issue at hand. Our own mistakes. That does not mean accepting responsibility for the other person’s actions, which might lead to quite a guilt trip, but it does entail being fully accountable for our own actions. As long as we remain calm, we can talk it out and get over it. People soon feel better, and the whole thing seems ridiculous in hindsight. We laugh and start having fun again. In fact, if we approach the solving of the problem in a light‑hearted fashion, it can be a rather fun process. This is one of the key conflict resolution strategies. Breaking from Problems of the PastYou may have handled conflict poorly in your past relationships, but you can break that habit any time. The first step is in becoming aware of what you tend to do, or the pattern that your interaction with your partner tends to take each time there is a conflict.If you need a little help figuring out how to prevent an argument from snowballing, just keep in mind these Conflict Resolution Strategies:
Keep working on your conflict resolution strategies. It'll take some time, but the key is to keep working at them. Go to Advice on Relationships from Conflict Resolution Strategies |
