DATED – 7th February 2017

Conflicts are a part and parcel of our lives. It can be between family members,
friends, husband-wife, business partners, siblings, or strangers. Having a life without
conflicts will be like living in a ‘la-la-land.’ We have various names for conflicts –
fights, disputes, difference of opinion, misunderstandings, misinterpretation, etc.

Here are 15 possible ways to resolve conflicts

1. Be practical and accept that such situations will occur. When they actually
   come, it is easier to solve them rather than get over-awed by the situation
2. Incase you realize it is your fault admit it. Say ‘Sorry’. Most of the times the
   other person will mellow down
3. Give them a small surprise – maybe a flower, card, love note, thank you note,
   their favourite food etc. Sometimes situations get resolved without actually
   needing to discuss the issue
4. Listen to them without trying to prove your point. Explain your point, if
   needed, when emotions have settled
5. Drop your ego. Take the first step
6. Make the other person smile. If you have a good sense of humour, use it!
7. Never have cold wars. Always keep the communication alive
8. Keep your eyes and mind open to see if the issue can be better resolved by
   involving an influencer
9. Do not try to be logical in such situations. Understand that there are more
   emotions than logic
10. Find a solution where both parties feel like a win-win situation. Else an
    agreement will never be reached
11. Sometimes when the solutions might take time, show an intent on resolving
    the issue rather than avoiding situations
12. While solving a third party dispute, become a neutral referee and get them
    to sit together. It is tough, but the best possible way to solve
13. Solve the issues when they are small rather than handling them later when
    they become bigger
14. Never use force to resolve a conflict. It will only aggravate matters and
    never resolve anything
15. Finally, take legal help to solve matters, which are not getting resolved by
    communication

While I write this, I am taking for granted that you are intending to solve the conflict.
Needless to say, use them according to the situation. One solution will never work
for all situations; you need to custom fit it as per your maturity and understanding.
I always feel that once the conflict gets resolved, with both the parties feeling
satisfied/ happy/ feeling won, the relationship touches a new high. It becomes
better than before. So, next time you are involved in a conflict, instead of feeling
stressed, feel excited that this relationship is going to touch a new high once
resolved. Just having this feeling makes things look easier than they are. Once this
feeling is achieved, the mind does the rest and leads us to various solutions.
HAPPY CONFLICT SOLVING ….