Conflict # 46 – The No-Win Conflict

Thinking of the conflicts throughout your life, have you ever made a bad decision that added fuel to the fire? I’m referring to one particular bad decision; that is, the decision to keep addressing a conflict over which you have no control.

Call it stubbornness, persistence, or just plain stupidity. We’ve all done it. Refusing to believe that there’s no solution, or that we’re incapable of figuring it out. We tell ourselves, “I’m not a quitter, I’m not giving up!” Now, the no-quit personality is a tremendous asset in most situations. We treasure that virtue and we celebrate our heroes. Without people like that – Thomas Edison, Florence Nightingale and Winston Churchill – our world would be a less happy place.

However – and this is a big however – is it possible that in some cases the no-quit attitude can create problems rather than solving them? Is it possible that some conflicts simply can’t be resolved?

I say yes, because history proves it. On a global scale, we have the problems of evil, of hatred, war and suffering. On a personal scale, most people can name someone in their circle of friends and family who will “never change”.

So, what do we do with this? Well, we can accept this reality, and we can learn to tell the difference between a problem / conflict that we can change, as opposed to one that we can’t. And how, you might ask, do we do that?

If you’re puzzling over that, and if it’s making you less happy than you want to be, give me a call. A free consultation is available at 219-309-3928. I’d be honored to talk to you.

Thanks for reading!