Avoiding Conflict

Two weeks ago I went to an early learning certification program. In one of the activities I had to play the role of the instructor and the rest of my colleagues had to act like children. The thing was that they over reacted to the scenario and were very rude in their behavior. At the end to the role play, they themselves noticed it and apologized to me. I said to them that it was ok just to demonstrate that their offenses couldn’t hurt me because I was stronger than them. At the end of the class my instructor asked me if I was ok and my tears rolled down. Then my instructor talked with the other girls in the class when I was present and said to them that such behavior was not acceptable. Then I talked to the group about how I felt and after that I felt so much better.

Now that I think of it, when the girls apologized to me and I said to them I was fine, I didn’t want them to think that they had made me collapse, I wanted to look strong, but I also was avoiding conflict because I feared that the great chemistry we had would be lost. But at the same time I wasn’t willing to accept their apologies because my feelings were hurt. When I openly talked about my feelings in front of the group it made me feel so much better and it was then when I could forgive them. This reminds me of the 3S, conflict is not a bad thing, “it is a healthy process, necessary for making progress and dealing with injustice”.   

The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/