Repurposing Our Conflicts
In the past few years I’m increasingly aware of the use and application of the word “repurposing”. It seems to apply to so many things – repurposing junk, clothes, furniture, gifts and so on. So, why not repurpose conflict?
As I thought about the concept of repurposing conflict, I considered that I don’t always know the real purpose for my conflicts. Do you? We might want to “win” a point about an issue, get our way, defend our viewpoint, assert how and why we disagree with someone else’s perspective, change something that upsets us, and so on. I must admit, I sometimes lose sight of the reason for my upset or underlying need and instead get caught up in the tense dynamic – losing my purpose.
This week’s Conflict Mastery Quest(ions) blog asks you to bring a conflict to mind as you answer this series of questions:
- What is the conflict about?
- What is the purpose of the conflict, from your perspective?
- What makes the purpose worth fighting about?
- How might the other person describe the purpose, from her or his perspective?
- What makes the purpose worth fighting about for her or him?
- What are you gaining from the conflict?
- What are you losing from the conflict?
- If you were to repurpose the conflict, what would its purpose be that you could discuss in a conciliatory way?
- What specific “junk” from the conflict will you repurpose? What purpose will you give it instead?
- What makes the repurpose better for you? What makes the repurpose better for the other person?
- What else occurs to you as you consider these questions?
- What insights do you have?
#conflictcoaching
#conflictmanagementcoaching
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