Walking Away From Conflict
Sometimes, walking away from a conflict is the optimal choice. We might realize there’s no useful purpose in continuing to interact when, for instance, both of us are being positional, blameful, angry and tense. We may wait until we gain composure and more perspective on what we both need to resolve matters. However, we may decide the issues are not worth fighting about, or that the conflict is too laden with risks to the relationship.
Other possibilities are that we don’t care enough, or we care a great deal and fear negative repercussions on the relationship. Or, perhaps we are just fed up, discouraged, pessimistic, hurt and hopeless.
This week’s blog invites you to consider a conflict you walked away from when answering the following questions.
- What was the conflict about?
- How do you describe what specifically you walked away from?
- For what reasons did you do so from the above possibilities or others that explain why you walked away?
- In what ways was walking away a good choice?
- In what ways was it not a good choice?
- What would have had to occur to preclude you from walking away?
- What did you walk to?
- Thinking about this situation now, does your original choice about walking away still feel like the optimal one? Why?
- How does your original choice not feel like the optimal one? Why not?
- What choices – other than walking away – are you considering now that you didn’t when the conflict first happened?
- What else occurs to you as you consider these questions?
- What insights do you have?
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