How Does Resilience Help You Navigate Conflicts?

We’ve all met someone who rolls with the punches. Someone who never seems to get tripped up — who falls down and just jumps right back up again. Then there are those who always seem flustered, defeated, or caught in a cycle of bad luck. Which person do you envision easily working through a conflict or difference of opinion with?

Building up your resilience can improve your response to conflict, helping you better connect with others. Managing stress well can help you maintain good relationships with others, even in the face of adversity. This can lead to better communication, as well as a greater sense of trust and understanding among individuals. A resilient person?may even be more likely ?to seek out opportunities to connect with others.

Our?ability to handle stress ?is affected by forces like brain function, genetics, and temperament. It is also affected by how we were raised, our?attachment ?to our caregivers, and the amount of stress we encountered as babies and toddlers. While all these?internal and external factors ?affect how we handle stressful situations, resilience isn’t a superpower you’re born with. It’s a tool you can sharpen.?

It’s important to remember that how you naturally respond to conflict is out of your control but improving your resilience is not.?Building resilience takes time and patience, but it’s key for building a community?—?and country?—?that works.??

Make It A Habit:

These tips will help you build your resilience muscle in the context of conflict and relationships. ??

1. Don’t Run: Do not run away from difficult conversations. Even when it’s hard, continue to come to the table to find solutions to problems or understanding between you and the other party. Always keep your eye on the prize; keep going, keep talking, keep connecting.
2. Know Your Limits:?Recognize your capacity for conflict at any given moment. Trust your body and yourself; just because you’re not up for a convo today doesn’t mean you won’t be tomorrow.?
3. The Struggle Is Real:?Recognize that your struggle is valid, no matter what you’re struggling with. Refrain from judging yourself and the other person during the process.
4. Find Your Coping Tool:?Look for the best way for you to cope after a challenging convo: journal, take a walk, find support…
5. Be Thankful:?Practice gratitude to celebrate the adversities you’ve overcome in this relationship — and how it’s made you stronger.

We are starting with us. We hope you are too.

Click to watch our latest episode of Radical Heroes

From Prison to Pardon: Finding Radical Compassion

Updates from our movement:

• A huge thank you to Movement Partner Alice Marie Johnson and her whole team for participating in our?Radical Heroes YouTube series . Working with Alice and learning her story firsthand was an honor for us. ??
• As of last week, we have over 200 Movement Partners! Our Movement Partners — many of whom have been on this journey with us since before we even had a name! — represent diverse industries that are shaping American culture, from sports and entertainment to business and academia. They bring a wide range of experiences and ideas that support Starts With Us on the path to depolarization. ??
• Movement Partner Mats Lederhausen talks about “identity idiocracy ” in his latest newsletter. We agree with Mats: generalizations rob us of our complexity. We are all way more than just one thing. ??