Are you dealing with CONFLICT in your life?
Of course you are... We all are!!

Conflict is inevitable. It's a natural part of all relationships, healthy or unhealthy. All relationships—with our spouses, teenagers, colleagues, friends, extended family, siblings, church acquaintances, and neighbors—will experience conflict because people differ so greatly as individuals. And we need to value those differences! Because we're different in personality, gender, opinions, concerns, and expectations, it's only natural that we disagree.

Whether at work or at home, meaning in your personal or professional life, think of CONFLICT as a way to Embrace your relationships in a new way.

Conflict isn't fun—and it's rarely pretty, of course. But that's because so many people rarely have good conflict resolution skills. OR perhaps any conflict resolution skills at all. So it's no wonder most of us dislike it and try to avoid it whenever possible. And it's perfectly normal for us to want to avoid conflicts.

It's important that we become aware of the blessing of conflict and not be alarmed as we begin to experience disputes and dissagreements. Rather than worry about when and if a conflict will occur, instead determine now how you will handle any conflict when it does come up. Conflict is actually a valuable crossroads—a point of growth in all your relationships. This may be a major paradigm shift for many people, especially if you've been in the habit of avoiding conflict altogether. It's important for you to see conflict as an opportunity to deepen your connection in your relationships, and not as a threat that will damage them, whether personal or professional, all family members and especially with your children----Moms and Dads.

So your new goal is not to eliminate disagreements, but to reach the other side together, with a closer bond between you and that other person. When conflict arrises you do recognize that your relationship is changing, certainly; and you can either use this time to grow together or grow apart---whether personally or professionally. The way you handle the critical interactions and conflict will be a key tool in improving your relationship. It is possible to have a stronger relationship if you get a good handle on the conflict and learn to manage it rather than letting it control you.

Conflicts, if handled in a healthy manner, have the potential to draw you closer to one another. In fact, disagreements are a necessary part of the process of drawing nearer to one another and working thru things that perhaps you'd not be able to do any other way, it's a bonding sort of ideal, that of course, we'd rather choose to run from or not to explore.

The best way to use conflicts is to agree ahead of time to always try to end up after a disagreement with a win-win solution. In other words, argue lovingly in a partnership type arrangement if it's a personal type situation until you both understand each other and value each other's different opinions. And in a friendship or work type situation, make sure you do so with kindness and consideration, and always with tact and diplomacy. Then spend a few minutes finding a solution that you both like and can live with. This is the best way to grow and draw closer in both personal and professional relationships, and especially so in love relationships to others when in disputes.

I do promise you that it may not be the most fun thing that you will ever experience, but it will be the most helpful and prosperous relational skill that you will ever learn. And you'll personally, professionally, and relationally be better for having gone thru it all and learned so much!~