Many superficial friendships end up being shelved after an argument because there isn’t enough depth to warrant all the trouble it takes to smooth over the disagreement. Unfortunately, even when the friendship reaches a deeper level, conflict continues to happen and can break apart a relationship. How can this be avoided?
First and foremost, when you have a falling out with a good friend, try to gain an understanding of each other’s perspective. To help understand why a disagreement started, it may be beneficial to ask questions about each other’s point of view. It is important to make sure that when you are listening to the other person’s perspective, you are actually listening and not adding your opinion. You will have the opportunity to tell your side in due time.
Also, it is important to avoid adding unnecessary drama. These things never help fix a problem and ultimately bring more hurt to all involved. Things like yelling, name calling, threatening to cut off the friendship, and personal attacks should be avoided at all costs. If it comes to that, walk away, breathe, step back and allow some time before you try again.
Last but not the least, agree to disagree. Resolving a conflict should not be seen as a contest to see who won or who was right or wrong. Even after taking steps to resolve a conflict, you still might not be able to agree. If you want to keep the relationship, it is okay to agree to disagree on an issue.
許多表面上的友誼最終在爭吵之后被擱置起來,因為沒有足夠的深度來保證消除分歧所需的所有麻煩。不幸的是,即使友誼達到更深的層次,沖突仍在繼續(xù),并可能打破一段關系。首先,當你和一個好朋友鬧翻時,試著了解對方的觀點。為了理解爭論產生的原因,詢問他們的觀點可能會有所幫助。重要的是要確保當你聽別人的觀點時,你實際上是在傾聽而不是增加你的觀點。你將有機會說出你的觀點。同時,避免不必要的戲劇化。這樣做永遠不會有助于解決問題,最終會給所有相關人員帶來更多的傷害,包括叫喊、罵人、威脅斷絕友誼和人身攻擊。如果到了這個地步,走開、(深)呼吸、退讓,在你再試一次之前留出一些時間。最后但也很重要的是,允許反面意見。解決沖突不應被視為一場競賽,看誰贏、誰對誰錯。即使在采取措施解決沖突之后,你可能仍然不能同意。如果你想保持關系,就這一問題達成妥協吧。
筆記
being shelved:被擱置起來
enough depth to warrant all the trouble it takes to smooth over the disagreement:這里指友誼的深度不足以平穩(wěn)的度過這次分歧
falling out:爭吵
each other’s perspective:從別人的觀點,這是口語和寫作里面經常用到的短語