My life seemed to be going along swimmingly and then all of a sudden- BAM!! There were conflicts in my life..... with an artist, with an employee, with my dry cleaner. I hate that. Why do people have to upset the apple cart? I would really just rather get along.
The funny thing about conflict is that people (me included) move directly to the worst case scenario- You don't like me, I'm leaving, nothing has ever been any good between us.
What?
I had a small epiphany after this exchange with an employee. "You think all my work is bad, I have been unhappy for a long time, and blah, blah, blah, and it is time to look for a new job I guess." Sighhh....... the epiphany was that he was giving me no way to talk to him when things weren't right when he immediately jumped to the "You hate everything I do" stance. What is it about conflict that makes every body's force shields go into hyper drive?
Ironically I picked up a new book at my library yesterday (I know, I know- reading my life away) by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor called Stroke of Insight (do take the time to watch this whole video). She describes the two halves of the brain that all human beings have in common. She also describes the circuitry that connects those two halves which make us the individuals we are. Because that circuitry is not part of our DNA it is unique to each person. She also describes the role of each half of our brain and why it is that individuals will often display conflicting personality traits- dictated by the separate lobes.
It makes me wonder that as human beings we share such common materials, yet that small tidbit of unique material causes such disparate personalities. And thus conflict arises. How do we maintain that connection to others and our common genetic materials? I suspect that is a lifetime of work.