Abby Connolly
Are you the kind of person who finds that you often get into a lot of drama with your friends and family when you disagree with them because you can’t seem to let go of the fact that you feel a different way?
Disagreeing with someone, especially someone you care about, is a very uncomfortable situation. There’s an unease that comes with disagreements because, at the end of the day, you want the people you surround yourself with to feel the same as you about most things.
Plus, you don’t always want to succumb to your loved one’s opposing beliefs and opinions to sacrifice your own.
So, perhaps you argue back and forth for a while. By the end of the conversation, you should be able to go back to living your life, not ending things in a screaming match.
If you’ve always found it hard to disagree with someone in a way that’s constructive and won’t destroy your relationship, here are some tips for you.
First, it’s important to enter every conversation surrounding a disagreement with an open mind. It can be hard to listen to someone talk about things you disagree with without clouding your head with thoughts about how your beliefs are much better than theirs.
However, having an open mind is key. You need to be open to listening to people and potentially be open to having your mind changed. If you don’t, you’ll have a one-sided conversation that won’t go anywhere.
You should also try to set some intentions for your conversation. For instance, are you going into this conversation with the hope of being able to agree with that person or have them agree with you by the end of it?
Are you hoping to learn something new? Do you want to find a compromise? Or are you simply in the mood to fight and argue? If it’s the latter, you should give it a rest.
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