conflict resolution

A few weeks I was supposed to participate in management training at work but ended up missing it because I was sick. Prior to the session I had to take a conflict resolution survey to determine how I typically resolved conflict. There were five buckets on could fall into -- competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. I scored pretty high for compromising, avoiding, + competing but was at a 3% low for collaborating. No bueno.

I recently had my conflict resolution skills tested when I went couch shopping with my boyfriend a few weekends ago for our new place(!). Our opinions differed + I got very (irrationally) upset by this. We talked later + in between that conversation + couch shopping I had taken this quiz. The more we talked through the couch debacle the more I understood my conflict style + why my test results were pretty spot on. Generally speaking, I am a people-pleaser. I want to avoid awkward scenarios so I either compromise or just let someone eventually have their way. There are, however, a few areas of my life that I am very territorial. Home decor is one such area.

Over the years and some compliments later I have come to realize that I kind of have a knack for style. I read the design blogs, I spend many sleepless nights on Pinterest + Etsy, + most of all I care. Living alone has allowed me to make all of the design decisions + it has always been very important to me to live somewhere I enjoy being because I'm a bit of a homebody. I take a lot of pride in this so it's a hard area for me to budge.

I move into our new place at the end of this month. This comes with so much excitement but also some challenges. Essentially, I can't necessarily get my way all the time anymore. Bummer. I'm up for the challenge though + I've really tried my best to up my collaboration score as much as possible + I think we have figured out a decent system. Spending some extra time to think through possible scenarios definitely doesn't hurt things.

Sorry for the radio silence around here lately. There is quite a bit of new furniture we need to buy + several pieces can take up to 8 weeks for delivery so it's going to be a bit of a slow process before I actually share anything. I'll try to have little sneak peeks here + there. And once I blow through all of my money I will resume to regular posting.