A few weeks ago, I wrote a post in the ABC's of Life series on forgiveness. Today, I got a comment from Aled Davies with a link to a post on his blog about 5 Steps to Forgiveness.
I really liked what I read over at Aled's blog, and it got me thinking: one of the key components I see in the 5 steps he wrote about is patience.
The patience to:
- Slow down your emotional response
- Consider that the other person might actually have a positive intention rather than a negative one
- Carefully consider what might be the other person's perspective
I have noticed that people who are able to successfully resolve conflicts generally exercise great patience with others, with themselves, and with the process of reconciling differences. They seldom push or rush either the other person or the process, and they work to remain open to alternative explanations for events rather than assuming people meant harm by their words or actions.
While I am not always patient with others, that is my goal. As Benjamin Franklin said:
Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.
Personally, I would love to be a genius at something, and resolving conflict seems like a good, productive area to be a genius about.
Won't you join me in pursuit of conflict resolution genius by working to exercise greater patience?
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