Week 2 Post 1

Before reading this chapter, I would say that conflict is learned from growing up and what environment we are raised in, but my view has changed a bit. I loved when the book stated, “Conflict exists as a fact of life, but we believe violence does not” (Abigail 3). I have always thought conflict equals anger or violence, but in reality it can be as simple as not seeing eye-to-eye with someone. I believe having opinions, and then having someone not agree with it, is only natural because we are individuals. Figuring out if it is a valuable asset is more subjective, in my opinion, because someone could handle a disagreement well while another people could turn hostile in that kind of situation. At the end of this chapter, what I walked away with was that conflict doesn’t have to mean a screaming match (although some handle it that way), there are times when our goals don’t match up and we must deal with that in a positive manner. As I’ve learned in other courses that aren’t dealing with conflict, healthy communication is key to any relationship.