Today’s Excerpt:

Sentence stem: “When I’m in a conflict I feel…”

When there’s a conflict and we feel an emotion, we all have a choice. We can either choose the immature expression of our feelings (which leads to disconnection), or we can choose the mature expression of our feelings (which leads to connection).

Sample Strategies:

• When you feel anger, you can ask for a moment to cool down. Then, when you’re ready, you can engage calmly and confidently.
• When you feel anxiety and fear, you can ask yourself what you like about the other person and what exactly you want from them. Then find the right time to ask for what you want, being open to hearing what they want.
• When you feel numb and apathetic, you can ask what your inner compass is pointing you toward. With this in mind, knowing it’s good to follow your inner compass and best self, see if you can summon the courage to ask for what you want.

Discuss:

• What is one thing you can each do to better navigate conflict?