Chapter Four: Post One

1). After reading Chapter 4 in its entirety, answer the following question:  How hard is it for you to stop a conflict?  If you find it easy to not respond automatically, what advice can you give others who have trouble with this step?  Whether you find this step difficult or not, what ways do you prefer if you try to take a "time out"?

It is fairly difficult for me to stop a conflict until I realize that it is not going to immediately be solved, in which case, I can walk away easily. I usually just leave the room or remove myself from the situation temporarily. That being said, it doesn’t take me very much time to stop, think, and process a conflict situation and I generally think with a level-head on my feet. However, there have been times that I was unable to stop a conflict because it was so provocative and intense that I acted before I had time to think about what I was really doing. I think that my advice on stopping a conflict would vary from person to person. I know a few people who handle conflict very well as it arises, and I know others who have poor judgment initially in a conflict and who assist in escalating the problem. However, I guess it is probably always best to somehow remove oneself from the situation and give oneself time to think. A person may return to a conflict with the same reaction that they initially had, or they may see certain aspects of the problem differently. In my opinion, it never really hurts to take the time to get your thoughts in order and make sure that they are ordered in the right direction.