Most often, we perceive a conflict as a negative, emotionally charged, dynamic event associated with anger, fear, and sometimes rage. But, in fact, everything may not be so scary, you just have to think about alternative ways to get what you want. It is important to note that conflicts in our lives are inevitable. Any conflict contributes to the manifestation of the positions of the participants, allows you to learn different points of view, expand your vision of the problem, change your opinion or take root in it. When talking about conflict, five behavior strategies are most often mentioned; we will talk about them below: Confrontation. This strategy is an attempt to satisfy one’s interests at the expense of the opponent’s interests. Most often, a person gets what he wants, but the relationship can deteriorate or even break down. And besides, there is a very high probability of a resumption of the conflict, since the opponent may want to take revenge, and then additional efforts will be required to maintain his position. The next strategy is the opposite of confrontation - concession. Here everything is exactly the opposite - one’s own goals are not achieved, needs are not satisfied, but relationships are often maintained, and in some cases they may even improve. However, the constant use of this strategy can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, which in turn can harm the person. When a person deliberately avoids conflict or does not allow it to arise, he is using an avoidance strategy. In this case, the needs and interests of both parties are not satisfied, and this leads to increased tension, which prevents the building of harmonious relationships. Compromise. Here everyone gives in a little, everyone partially satisfies their needs, relationships are preserved, everyone is happy. Compromise is a constructive strategy, however, if the outcome of the conflict, for some reason, seems unfair, the relationship may deteriorate. The most constructive strategy, which requires the most effort, is cooperation. The necessary conditions here are: clarification of true motives and desires, respect and attention to the other side and the ability to maintain emotional calm. As a result, opponents fully satisfy their needs, relationships are strengthened, and both gain positive experience in resolving a conflict situation. Although cooperation and compromise are constructive strategies, this does not mean that they should always be resorted to. What kind of compromise can we talk about if your life or health is in danger? Flexibility! This is what you need to constantly address. You need to learn to stop and evaluate the situation, as well as how you can act in it. And finally, a little exercise. Remember your last conflict and try to answer the following questions: what was the purpose of the conflict, what did I do to satisfy my interests, the interests of my opponent, what strategy/set of strategies did I use, whether a successful result was achieved, if no (and it makes you feel bad) what can I do differently next time.