PERSONAL RESPONSES TO CONFLICT: Where are you and where are they?

Have you ever been embroiled in a dispute at work, home, or with a stranger and wondered how to extricate yourself from the mess? Well it might be worth knowing that there really are a lot of choices. The real question is how you feel about yourself and what resolution will cost you in money, time, health, family, emotions and energy.

Here are some options from passive to aggressive. In my view the best solution is somewhere in the middle because there usually is a high personal cost at either extreme of the spectrum.

If you choose to forget, deny or avoid a persistent problem you may lose self esteem, or suffer emotional and physical problems. On the other hand unless there are important principles or values at stake, entering into litigation and an all out war against the other side may not only cost you money but result in losses of time, energy and subject you to undue stress.

OK, so here is the order from least resistance to most aggressive. You may choose to respond by adopting any of the following methods:

Forget about it;
Deny the incident ever happened;
Avoid the person or situation;
Open dialogue or discussions with the other side;
Negotiate and openly communicate your point of view;
Choose mediation with the help of a third party;
Choose binding or non-binding arbitration with a third party(s);
Commence litigation;
Utilize self help methods during litigation;
Enter all out war.

Whichever method you choose accepting responsibility for the choice is important otherwise it is unlikely that you will be satisfied with the outcome. Ultimately the most satisfying resolution is determined by how you feel before after and during the process. For additional tips visit: http://www.InnovativeDealMaking.com