Resolving Personal Conflict

            Part of our assignment this week is to share a conflict in our professional or personal life.  Currently my professional life is limited as I am a dental assistant that fills in at different offices.  I deal with an array of people on those days, which includes several personalities.  Through this career choice, which allows me enough time to also complete my schoolwork, I usually do not give much attention to any of the concerns or conflicts present when I temp.  I may only visit that particular office once every several months, therefore I do not invest enough time to allow it to bother me. In my personal life my family unit has always been a struggle to me.  When I say struggle I refer to conflict.  My mother died at a young age, as my father raised three girls on his own as a young adult himself.  Of course my maternal grandmother took a huge step in helping take care of us, her promise to my mother.  Nevertheless after losing my grandmother it was hard and my sisters were all I seem to have family wise, as my father had remarried and moved on with his life.  My sisters and I of course disagreed growing up and conflict was obvious.  As we all grow and mature so does the methods of how we deal with conflict.  “Healthy debate serves a real purpose in that it helps people and groups make smarter decisions” (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven, 2018, p 216).  With gained knowledge of my sisters views in life and the issues she faces in life, I am able to stay open to her opinions, even though I know they are inaccurate.  I learn to choose my battles as the say goes.  Productive conflict can help relationships grow stronger, such as now my sister is my best friend.  Growing up I never would have thought that would have occurred.

            Two strategies that I have learned about conflict that would be effective in my professional and personal life would be to collaborate if all possible.  In the matter of collaborating together everyone feels valued.  We can gain knowledge and experience from others by collaborating together.  Another strategy that I feel could be useful would be to understand everyone has different views, goals, and philosophies.  If the views of two people are completely opposite, we need to remember to collaborate or at least compromise.  Additionally we can always gain from having a clear perspective of cultural differences among each person and about those differences.  Implementing the Platinum or Golden Rule has never led anyone astray either, so this is a great asset to use in life.

            For any of my colleagues that may have siblings, have you found it easier to agree with your differences as you aged?  How many of you ignore the conflicts a sibling can create?  What have you found your best tools for conflict resolution to be?

Resource

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real communication: An introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.