The last time that I had an emotional conflict with someone was unfortunately with one of my best friends. I learned from other close mutual friend that one of my best friends was making negative comments about me and talking about me behind my back. It was pretty petty stuff and the negative comments did not bother me as much as I learned the negative comments from another person rather than directly from one of my best friends.
Honestly, I don't even remember the source of the conflict. What bothered me the most was that I learned of her comments and opinions about me from another friend. I was caught off guard learning what she really thought of me and was disappointed that she didn't talk to me directly about the situation, but she instead shared her thoughts and opinions about me to our other friends. I was less disappointed about what she said but rather more disappointed that she didn't come to me and try to resolve the issue directly with me.
I handled the conflict heads on by having a one-on-one conversation with one of my best friends and told her how I learned and heard what she said about me through another mutual friend. The discussion was a little contentious and uncomfortable at the beginning, but we worked and talked thru my actions that bothered her. Most importantly, we established guidelines and expectations from each other moving forward.
Although our discussion started a little rocky and contentious, once we got our conflicts out in the open and discussed through our differences in opinions, we quickly moved on and there was a renewed respect on each other's perspective and opinion.
Nothing. I think that I handled the situation correctly by attacking the situation heads on and talking and discussing the issues and conflicts to resolve them rather than shying away from the uncomfortable situation.
From this experience, I learned that the best way to avoid conflict is not to shy away from the conflict but instead attack the conflict heads on and deal with the issue or conflict directly. It's important to be open minded and listen to the other person's opinion before jumping into conclusion. The best way to deal with conflict is to be level headed and not be overcome with emotions. Taking emotions out of the equation and being objective is the best way to deal with conflict and uncomfortable situations that you may not agree on.