“Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you.”

  

There isn’t a family on earth that hasn’t had to battle with conflict at some point or another. Having a positive family doesn’t mean you don’t have to manage conflict. There are many reasons family conflict occurs. We are all different and have distinctive experiences in how we communicate, what we value and how we live our lives. So, yes, it is normal for a family to have conflict, but the secret is in how you deal with them.

 

Here are the three family conflict resolution secrets:

 

  1. Take your heart out of the conflict when communicating

Taking your heart out of the conflict simply means keeping your emotions at bay. Sometimes your emotions may lead you to say something that you’ll regret. Keep a calm voice; shouting, yelling and stomping will raise that person’s stress level and automatically puts them on the defense. I know it’s difficult to shut out your emotions. However, do your best to manage them and be more logical about the conflict.

 

“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

–Frank Outlaw

 

  1. Listen without being on the defense

When listening to another individual, are you really listening with your ears? Or are you twiddling your thumbs waiting for your chance to respond? You must use active listening, which means you listen to understand and not to defend yourself. As a consequence, you can help rebuild relationships, solve problems, and instead of making assumptions, you can improve the accuracy of knowing the root of the problem, resolve conflicts, and ensure understanding. Let that family member or friend complete their thoughts and listen to them without disruption.

 

“Listen with the will to learn.” ― Unarine Ramaru

 

  1. Brainstorm solutions together

After, you’ve done both steps above, you should be in a good space to collectively solve the conflict together. Make sure that you are not only giving the suggestion; if so, you will think the conflict is solved but actually it isn’t until the other person suggests and you both agree to the best solution going forward.

 

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.

-Edward Everett Hale

 

#AlrightNow

#2022 LiveYourBestLife