If you’re a people-pleaser, a peacekeeper, or conflict-avoider, this episode of Your Permission Prescription is for you.
We tend to avoid conflict so we don’t feel discomfort, or find ourselves susceptible to someone else’s anger or disappointment. However, the more you avoid external conflict, your internal conflict grows. Remember, it’s not your responsibility to manage someone else’s response to your truth.
Ask yourself, What boundaries am I crossing in order to stay in this relationship? How am I holding back and making myself easily digestible to the other person?
We are taught that maintaining harmony in relationships is the highest priority. But in fact, maintaining harmony at all costs comes at a high cost to ourselves.
If we are looking at conflict as ALL or NOTHING, as in “If we have a fight, we will get divorced!” or “If there’s conflict, I will get fired!” we’ll be in the loop of “What do I need to do to make everything okay?”
True, authentic relationships can hold space for differences and conflict with connection still present. So the bigger question is… “If I fear something extreme happening because of conflict, how am I sacrificing myself in this relationship?”
If you’d like a deeper exploration of this concept and others, check out my book, Permission to Put Yourself First https://nancylevin.com/nancy-levin-books/#permission
Listen to Your Permission Prescription: Episode 76 to stop fearing conflict and learn to be your true self.
What I Discuss & Highlights From Episode 76:
- Why we avoid conflict.
- Fearing conflict is a sign of fearing something much deeper.
- Why avoiding conflict keeps you from being your authentic self in relationships.
- How true connection in relationships provides space for conflict.
