Navigating Conflict (And Why It Can Be A Good Thing)Sample

Propose a Solution After feelings have been expressed and each person has communicated they understand the other, it’s best to find a solution. This may mean setting boundaries so that feelings are no longer hurt in the future. It might mean being more strategic in spending time together. What if each person has a different idea of what a solution looks like? Something a very wise counselor once told my husband and me in pre-marital counseling is that if each person has a different interpretation of a resolution, always have a plan c, or d, or f, and so on. There is ALWAYS a common ground solution, and if that means making a list over the kitchen table late at night, then do it. Find a solution you can both agree on! Matthew 5 blesses the peacemakers; these are the people who diffuse the conflict. When you find a solution you diffuse the conflict because you’re creating a way to avoid the same conflict in the future. Don’t go into the conflict with the intention of “winning.” If you “win” and the other “loses,” you still lose because the person you care about lost. Nobody wins when one person comes out on top. Find a way you can both move forward in peace; this is the only way to truly reconcile conflict. I pray God has used this plan over the last seven days to transform your perception of conflict. I know it has been these very steps that have transformed my own approach to conflict! I’m not perfect and still have to figure out how to live some of these steps out, and chances are it will take some trial and error for you to get it too, but hold firm to what you now know and allow God to transform how you handle conflict resolution!