Conflict and disagreements will arise frequently in our
lives. How we handle it will depend a great deal on our actions and our ability
to deal with it. I recently experienced conflict in my personal life during the
death of my husband. My children and I experienced some of the worst behaviors
from in-laws during this time. They wanted and tried very hard to exclude us
out of helping in planning the funeral arrangement of my husband and their
father. Because of the lack of one on
one communication we were receiving communications through third parties. My
only concern during this time was ensuring that my children were not hurt in
this situation. This situation is definitely one that I could have benefitted
from NVC. I do believe that if I had
known and understood more about the NVC I would have been more careful when I
did communicate with them. It does not matter what the situation may be we have
to always use effective communication strategies. This can eliminate a lot of
stress and unnecessary conflict. The escapist strategy and cooperative strategy
are two I could have used that may have help manage the conflict. As I look
back at the situation there were times when I did use these strategies without
realizing it. When I know how a person or even a situation makes me feel I will
avoid them in an effort to eliminate and avoid conflict.
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI can see how this situation would cause conflict for you and your children. I can also see how it might cause you to deal with it in a manner that is not productive when the communication is like what you described. You are right that no matter the situation, one can use effective communication strategies to resolve issues. I think that an escapist strategy was very fitting for such a situation especially since it was death and emotions were already high! I hope that you are able to use these strategies in the future to help resolve conflict.
Cherri