Conflict resolution skills are invaluable source of establishing peace. However, conflict has for a long time been misconstrued to mean only the physical disagreements between two parties. This paper looks at conflict particularly in regards to personal mental conflict on a particular dilemma whereby an individual may be faced with difficult decision making options.
This kind of would require balancing between more important issues and those that are not of high priority. Such decisions include balancing relationships, loss of employment and the quest to settle for another job opportunity, what subjects to study at a college, careers to pursue, places to inhabit, business ventures options, health matters among others.
I chose to read this chapter of the book because it has immense information on what I actually needed to understand on improving my overall motivation towards my vision. Plans are important in the pursuit of our set goals in life. The book also provided me with the information I was looking for especially on the area of conflict resolution as an individual. These are discussed in details in the remaining section of the essay.
Research has shown that mental conflict and dilemma experienced by an individual may lead to stress. Additionally, distress may also manifest itself as an advance level of stress and depression. Finally, frustrations which may lead to an individual to be fixated, brain being rewired and even death in some cases through suicide Deutsch, Coleman & Marcus, 2006).
For one to effectively manage mental conflict, the individual victim must be prepared with the necessary tactics and skills of conflict resolution and the right knowledge on how to become proactive by self evaluation and regulation. This kind of approach enables an individual to understand self image, strengths, weakness, aspirations and threats from the world around and the needs of those with whom we interact with.
One of the most important approaches to the resolution of the interpersonal conflict is the inculcation of willpower which is the aspirations of the individual in dilemma driven by the strength and the opportunities (Deutsch, Coleman & Marcus, 2006). A person would have to forgo immediate self gratification which is of great pleasure for the sake of waiting for something far much more important but coming at a later date.
I remember at my childhood, one day a young man collected about five of us and gave each of us a piece of banana. The rule of eating the piece of banana was that the first person to finish would be added but only on condition that the person takes very small bites of the banana.
This was the dilemma of the game since most of us believed that the only quickest way to finish first was to take big bites. All of us failed the test save for one girl who did take small bites but was never the first to finish. This kind of conflict is referred to us Marshmallow Dilemma which is a prototype self conflict according to psychological research.
Understanding individual differences and the social and cognitive adaptive skill is key to conflict resolution in an individual. Consciousness and ego can be controlled through restrain by avoiding impulsive reactions.
Research shows that effective self regulation beginning at an early age predicts that such individuals can manage their future lives in a better way and become more responsible citizens as opposed to those who cannot regulate themselves effectively at an early age (Deutsch, Coleman & Marcus, 2006). Therefore, they are more likely to exhibit poor academic performance, disorders in offsprings and even become social deviants in society.
Reference
Deutsch, M., Coleman, T. P. & Marcus, C. E. (eds). (2006). The hand book of conflict resolution: theory and practice, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass