We have about 70,000 thoughts per day, and around 85% of those thoughts are negative. That much negativity is bound to have an effect on your mood, productivity, and perceived self-worth. Negative self-talk is more than just your inner critic. It can be any thought you have in which you denigrate yourself, put yourself down,…

When it comes to confronting conflict, there is a wide array of valuable tools and tactics available for mediators, conflict managers, and individuals to learn and employ in the face of growing tensions. However, to see a conflict only in the moment it arises is to see it out of context. The norms and structures…

Frameworks help analyze conflict, and the deeper our understanding of conflict, the greater our ability to handle it effectively. Like the steel girders in a skyscraper, a framework gives conflict shape. How we view conflict will impact our attitude and approach to it. One framework for analyzing conflict, as described in “The Dynamics of Conflict…

Some communication theorists interpret human communication as a continuous loop, with the sender and receiver simultaneously engaged in the receiving, interpreting and responding to each other’s messages. However, when people are in conflict, their communication is fraught with misinterpretation. Parallel one-way communication never transforms conflict because there is no basis for mutual understanding. Each participant…

Being a reflective individual means regularly engaging in this kind of inquiry. It can also help you draw out invaluable insights for the future. We’ve all had the experience of diving into a conversation, riding high on emotions and frustration. The conversation becomes a conflict, and then the conflict escalates and becomes painful. Hours later…

Being “smart” is one of the most commonly cited attributes in relation to success. We want to look smart, make smart decisions, and be smart about our careers. However, being ‘smart’ means more than we often realize. Intelligence cannot be separated from the blessings and curses of human emotion, and this is a vital insight…