What is my communication style? Does my birth order affect my current relationship? What is my philosophy on finances and spending? What makes me feel heard and understood? What are my personal and professional expectations for the future? These are all questions that one should be asking before making a serious commitment to another, but […]
The next step in building your own sound relationship house is learning to manage conflict. I believe that conflict is part of every relationship, but it doesn’t have to be something that blows up or makes our relationship less enjoyable.
The next step in building your own sound relationship house is learning to create a positive perspective or positive sentiment override instead of a negative sentiment override. Many couples experience positive sentiment override at the start of a relationship.
“Logic is one thing, the human animal another. You can quite easily propose a logical solution to something and at the same time hope in your heart of hearts it won’t work out.” -Luigi Pirandello
I could write a novella about drama I have personally experienced during past holiday seasons. I am definitely still learning how to prevent and diffuse interpersonal conflict, especially during the holiday season, but here are some things I have discovered.
Last month I wrote about damage control and managing conflict. I have found that many of my clients (and friends) have to deal with more interpersonal conflict and damage control than usual during the holiday season. This is because the holidays are a time when we are expected to spend time with family members. And, […]
The next step in building your own sound relationship house is turning towards instead of away from your partner. This means learning to recognize little day-to-day attempts made by your partner to connect with you.
Practicing healthy communication and appropriate emotions management can be difficult when feelings are running high. We have a need to be heard and understood, especially at times when it feels as if we are not being heard or understood. In order to have that need met, sometimes we tend to get louder, angrier, or more […]
In the practical blog on conflict I offered some simple steps to dealing with conflict. Now I want to talk about how I (and I think most people) handle conflict.
Interpersonal conflict is guaranteed in life. Some would even say the holidays foster it as we find ourselves spending time with family members we may try to avoid the remainder of the year. In December’s blog I will talk about ways to prevent conflict. But for now, let’s talk about how to handle conflict once […]
