Confrontation

Lately, I feel like I have been challenged in my confrontation skills, in good and bad ways. And I still feel like a novice when handling different situations. At the same time, I am thankful for the opportunities where I can gain experience. Not that I go looking for problems, but I feel more confident when I do face confrontation with some prior knowledge on how to specifically handle the situations.

One thing I have always remembered from being an RA was when one of my residents told me that I was unapproachable and passive-aggressive. She was probably right. When I get on my soapbox, I can get carried away, which is ridiculous, because most of the time I regret everything I say.

I have been trying to learn to take a step back, think about what my words mean to someone else, even if it's not what they mean to me. And it's so hard because when I find myself in these moments, I am hasty to make sure I have the upper hand. I know this is just my pride getting in the way. Stupid pride! (hehe...)

I bring this forward today because I know I have a situation coming up that will require good confrontation skills. And I have been praying about it, but still get jittery inside. And I have been considering all the angles and how it could turn.

How do you deal with confrontation? Do you pray beforehand? What tools make you most successful when you come face-to-face with a situation that you would rather run from?

TRODD