Staying Mentally Healthy
...of confict and stress in our lives.
We cannot completely rid ourselves of conflict and stress, but we can
reduce them by changing our thoughts and beliefs about conflict.
Why Does Conflict Happen?
One might say that conflict happens because two people disagree. But the real reason is more basic than that.
Why do people disagree? Because they have a different perspective on how or why something should be done. Why does this have to cause conflict?
Because the bottom line is:
We Want People To Do Things Our Way
Why?
1. It's more convenient for us.
2. That's the way we've always done it.
3. It violates our sense of right and wrong.
Convenience
Let's think logically for a minute. Why should we expect that the rest of the world should always do things in a way that is convenient for us? This is a little self-centered. If you want things your way, and others want things their way, then there is always going to be somebody who is inconvenienced. What's wrong with that?
I don't like it. OK, so you don't like it. So what? Just because you don't like it, does that mean it's wrong? To get upset because you've been inconvenienced is illogical, because the only reason to get upset is because you think you deserve to not be inconvenienced. That makes you more important than others.
The only reason to be upset because we are inconvenienced is because we feel we have a right to have everything go our way. No one has that right. Inconvenience happens to everyone, no one has the right to have everything their way.
It takes some practice to start thinking of inconvenient things or events as non-negatives. We must consciously correct our thinking to get rid of the erroneous beliefs or unrealistic expectations which cause us to view events as inconvenient.
Habit
Just because you have always done something a certain...
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