Bulls n' Bears

 

Circumventing Conflicts

Handling or circumventing conflicts is a useful skill and can be one that you will use your entire life. Conflicts are a part of life. There will always be people who have differing opinions because people are individuals with different experiences, values and goals.

Even if you do not experience conflicts with others, you will have to deal with internal conflicts within yourself.

Conflicts do not always have to be seen as a negative thing. If you can learn something from a conflict then you will be able to turn it into a positive learning experience. Having a conflict may cause you to consider things that you may not have thought about before.

Having a conflict with another person may be the catalyst that causes you to sit and really talk with them to find out why they feel the way that they do. That can lead to greater understanding and you may be able to resolve it by compromise and then be able to work together towards the same goal instead of working against each other.

When faced with a conflict, there are steps you can take to keep it from escalating into a bad situation. Take a step back and put your emotions aside to be able to look at the situation objectively. Think about what you want to accomplish and also what the other side is trying to accomplish. Look to see if there is any common ground or common goals between the two sides. Look for things that you can compromise on so that both sides can work towards a common goal instead of fighting against each other.

Talk with the other side to see why they feel the way they do. By understanding their motivation, you can understand them better and be able to see them as people like yourself and not just as an enemy. Most of all don't approach the situation as a situation where you either win or the other side wins. Rather than put all your energy fighting the other side, take the time to see if there is a way that you can compromise so that both side can be happy with the outcome. By using the above techniques you will be able to turn a conflict as situation where everyone wins.