Have you ever had to deal with conflict? If so, what was your initial reaction? There is no way to avoid conflict all the time, so learning how to deal with it in a healthy manner is an important life skill.
Knowing how to manage conflict is a skill that can be helpful in professional and personal relationships. When an argument occurs, you will need to know how to process it in a way that lets you learn from it. Below are some helpful tips on conflict resolution.
Five Ways to Handle Conflict Resolution
- Talk to the person that you had an argument with, giving them an opportunity to speak without interrupting.
- Before speaking about the issue, be sure to agree to and set ground rules.
- Accept responsibility for your role.
- Give everyone time to decompress and process what just happened.
- Accept the fact that the other person may never apologize.
Bouncing back from a conflict requires a calm mind and time to process what just happened. While conflict is not something you may want in your life, it is a reality to come to terms with in order to have healthy relationships in the future. Honestly assessing how well you deal with conflict is the beginning of being able to bounce back after an argument or disagreement.
How to Work Through Conflicts
Do you find it difficult to work through conflicts in a healthy manner? Many people with impostor syndrome try to avoid conflict and rarely stand up for themselves. However, this is neither productive nor healthy for the individual.
Below are some tips on how to work through conflicts on an internal level. Once you can sort out your own feelings, you are in a better space to deal with the other person.
- Focus on how the conflict made you feel before worrying about how the other person feels.
- Know your boundaries and stand firm, regardless of the topic. Sometimes people will purposely try to get you to leave your boundaries just to please them.
- Be at peace with the fact that conflicts happen and that you can only be responsible for your part.
- Seek peace with the other person but be prepared for the possibility of a lack of conflict resolution.
- Look at this situation as a learning experience so you can free your mind from overthinking the situation.
Peggy Roth, MSEd, LMFT of Council for Relationships, gives some advice on how to reflect after an argument. She recommends taking some time out so you can think clearly.
It is important to realize that everyone brings behavior patterns and underlying emotions from personal experiences into relationships. When dealing with conflict, you can seek the help of a relationship therapist for additional and personalized help. Many times, a conflict can be turned into a learning experience that leads to a more compassionate and connecting relationship.
