We are all very unique individuals and for the most part, most of us try as much as possible to be at peace with everyone, those you love and even those who are a pain in the butt.
But no matter how you try, disagreements are bound to happen. Your viewpoint or ideas and concerns will naturally clash with those of other people.
Sometimes these can be long and drawn out. But you’re not alone, We’ve all been there before.
What Is Conflict?
Conflict is a disagreement or difference in your viewpoint, ideas, approach, preferences, and concerns between two people or a struggle within yourself. It can also be verbal or of a physical nature.
When this happens, you’re thrown out of whack. Your natural balance and your peace of mind and has been disturbed and not working as it should.
Do We Need Conflict?
Conflict is not a bad thing and yes, we do need conflict.
When there are issues that need to be hashed out then naturally there are going to be confrontations. Here’s the thing, don’t try to save your own skin and defend yourself by resorting to any personal attacks.
It’s good to have disagreements because it brings underlying issues, feeling and emotions to the surface. This allows you to address them and come up with solutions.
Conflicts force you to engage your communication skills on a different level and at times call for compromise and to see things from a different perspective. It also through communication you’ll be able to resolve issues.
What Are The Four (4) Types Of Conflict?
The four (4) main types of conflict that affects us namely:
1.Interpersonal Conflict -This type of conflict occurs when you have a struggle within yourself. This could be your thoughts emotions.
2.Person Opposing Person Conflict– This form of conflict is when you have a dispute with someone.
3.Person Opposing Society Conflict – When you have a contention with the rules that the society has put in place.
4.Person Opposing Nature – In this case, it’s when you have an opposition with something in nature.
Is Conflict Good Or Bad?
Confrontations can really take a toll on your emotional and physical health. For this reason you might see it as being a bad thing and try your best to prevent any sort of arguments.
Conflicts do have their positive and negative effects but the same can be said for a lot of things in life.
It can cause a lot of turmoil hurt and misery but it can also provide the gateway for personal growth and transformations, better communication as well as solutions to problems
Is Conflict Good Or Bad For A Relationship?
When you have confrontations in your relationships it shouldn’t be a case where all the gloves are off. Don’t be so angry that you throw caution to the wind and throw everything out the door and start to hurl accusations and being nasty.
After all, it’s just a disagreement and you still want to keep your relationship, right? Choosing the right time to address any situation is very important. Things could quickly take a turn for the worse.
I know, Sometimes It can be really hard to keep your mouth shut and it will take self-control when you want to get to the bottom of an explosive, unpredictable situation. But waiting until you’re both calm and in the right headspace is so worth the effort. If you don’t, a simple issue can blow way out of proportion.
What Are The Benefits Of Conflict?
We’ve all been in arguments before and though you might prefer to shy away from any kind of confrontation, there are benefits to be had from these differences. Included are:
1.Makes Way For New Ideas
When you differentiate between the person and the problem at the time of the contention, it makes it possible for you to listen. Listening to someone’s viewpoint can allow you to see a fresh outlook on the situation.
2. Express What Is Important To You
Taking a stance on what’s important to you while at the same time being careful not to hurl accusations. This will help to provides clarity and a chance for that support.
3. Learn to be Open to Change
– When you’re in conflict it’s good to be open to change. In this way, it makes it easier for you to adjust and shift the way you think. It also leaves room for communication and allows the other person to have a say.
4. Trains You To Develop Your Listening Skills
If you ever want to get to the bottom of any contention you have to develop the ability to listen. There’s’ no two way about it, that’s the only way you’ll arrive at a common understanding and find a solution to the issue at hand.
5. Learns Personality Behaviour
Communication during a conflict allows you to figure out a person’s mentality and how they behave. This also gives you an opportunity to learn how you respond when faced with opposition.
6. Helps To Find Solutions
Confrontation usually brings issues out in the open and when this happens discussions, assessing, reasoning, and compromising must take palace in order to come up with a solution.
8. Helps To Set Boundaries
Conflict can sometimes be the ideal tool you use to set boundaries surrounding these disagreements. Letting the other person know what your boundaries are let them know just what you’ll tolerate. When there isn’t any common/shared consideration for each other then there is a sense of feeling of ease and not a sense of feeling that you’re under attack. It’s going to be difficult for effective communication to take place or make any progress.
9. Helps Exercise Better Control Of Your Emotions
It’s easy for you to get emotional during a confrontation. It doesn’t help the situation in any way if both people are having a shouting match. It’s important that you learn to keep your composure when trying to get the other person to understand what you have to say. Being calm sets the cone for better interaction and coming up with a solution sooner.
10. Allows You To Be Yourself
When you let others know what you stand for, your beliefs and opinions when there is contention, they will soak up that information and take the steps necessary to tweak their approach accordingly as a result. These changes are positive results that come from these disagreements.
Conclusion
You’ve had disagreements before and no doubt some of them were pretty heated. The sad part about conflict is that sometimes these differences can get really nasty.
The funny thing is that some of these arguments are over really petty things. These arguments can lead to one person starting to get mean and start slinging mud with personal attacks.
This can be heartbreaking because once you start with the mean verbal attacks you can’t unsay all the mean things that came out of your mouth. Keep that at the forefront of your mind whenever you get entangled in an argument.
How do you resolve conflicts? Comment below!
