5 Tips to Handle Conflict

Do you find yourself arguing more and more? Would you like to turn your arguing into communicating? Here are 5 tips to help you out.

1. First and foremost, build your relationship with God. When your relationship with God is strong, very little can cause conflict in your life.

2. Remove the “me first” attitude. Think of your spouse’s wants before thinking of your own. When you give your spouse more than they require, they will give you more than you expect.

3. Do not repay evil for evil. One of my favorite quotes is “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

4. When conflict arises, remember to remove the plank from your own eye in order to see the sawdust in your spouse’s eye. When a conflict arises, we are so quick to blame the other person without considering how we ourselves may have contributed to the problem.

5. Identify the problem that caused the conflict. You can’t solve a problem without knowing what exactly the problem is. Ask your spouse if you understand him/her correctly, and state what you believe they said. Your spouse can agree or add more explanation. Without understanding the other person’s point of view, there is no room for negotiating. Once you understand you spouse’s point of view you can now begin the resolution to the problem. Explain your point of view and ask how can we resolve this. Now the focus is off the conflict and on to the resolution.