With career interviews slowly approaching, one of the many possible behavioral questions over which I have been meditating is that of:
Think of a time you and another coworker have been in conflict. How did you deal with that conflict?
How do you answer that question when you really have never been in an overwhelming conflict with another human being? How do you answer that question when you automatically see the good in people and conflict is the last thing on your mind? How do you answer that when your mind subconsciously forgets the little disagreements and desires to be in peace with those around you?
On the contrary. . .
On the contrary. . .
How do you deal with an individual who you thought had a pure soul, who then turns around and denounces your character in the name of immaturity?
Well, truly, the answer is overwhelmingly obvious {at least to me}.
Love them.
Hatred and vengeance in the name of 'feeling better' never really fixes anything; does it truly make one happier to hate and resolve with revenge? Of course not.
Hatred is this funny thing, you see - it really only hurts the person who harbors in in their heart.
Something happened this week which brought me back to my past, a past full of emotions towards myself that I truly never want to feel again. Self-depreciating thoughts - truly there is nothing worse that being your own worse enemy, being your biggest discourager, breaking your own moral and feeling completely hopeless.
What is your weaknesses? Truly, a weakness I wish I could rid of myself is taking too much pride in my character and being crushed, to a point of tears, when someone mistakes my character for something it is not. A weakness of mine is automatically realizing the pureness in every soul, and being overwhelmingly surprised and even hurt when someone proves that they are just another human, like me, filled with sin and misconceptions.
When someone misconstrues who I truly am with something I am absolutely not, negative and condemning thoughts start to fill my brain with lies. Somehow I believed that through my experiences of this past year and the subsequent positivity which has filled my mindset, those negative self-feelings that I had been fighting for such a long time would cease to exist.
But hey, I mean I am human just like the next person.
Yes, I struggle with negativity, but I am not as bad on myself as I used to be.
I am my own worst enemy, but I am beyond thankful to be blessed with individuals who refuse to give up on showing me why I am not always as bad as my self-depreciating thoughts make myself out to be.
How do you deal with that conflict among other people?
The same way I deal with conflict within myself - Love.
Sometimes you can't get around conflict; sometimes conflict just happens.
And when it does, use it as a learning opportunity, as an opportunity for growth. Show someone love, something that that individual probably hasn't really seen that often when it comes to conflict.
Just like I need to show my conflicting emotional thoughts love, I will show those who contract conflict against me with love.
And in those moments where I contract conflict with others, I will take a step back, breathe, and regain my character's composure.
Let love in.
And in the end, Love wins, it conquers all {1 Corinthians 13}.