Disagreements, Disputes, and All-Out War

Introduction

Conflicts are part of everyday living. Everyone has different goals, interests, priorities, agendas, personal styles, you name it—and inevitably these differences lead to conflicts. So what starts off as differences of opinion or different choices escalates, and you have a conflict! Then you have to figure out what to do about it—walk away, sit down and have an extended discussion about the problem, give in to what the other person wants, assert yourself to get your own way, or figure out some kind of compromise. Or maybe there was some way to avoid the differences escalating into a conflict in the first place.

Unfortunately, because of all sorts of factors—personality dynamics, family relationships, power politics, whatever—it is ...