I was listening to the interview of Brene Brown by Chase Jarvis.
What struck me was her emphasis on developing the capability to have difficult conversations. It’s something that I have personally struggled with, and this was a wake-up call.
We hate confrontations; they are uncomfortable.
We all want to fit in because that is how we evolved. We always wanted to fit in the tribe, because if we did not… we would be kicked out. We carry the same nature of the mind in the current era as well.
This is the precise reason why we hate confrontations. They open up one more chance for us to be kicked out.
Now, I personally hate awkward talks and confrontations. I used to hide. And I used to hide by convincing myself that I am a ‘kind person’. But hopefully, this is the beginning of something new, as I see that this was just a bluff… just a rationalizing effort to hide. The reason we run away from confrontations is not that we are nice and kind… it’s because we are afraid.
Having difficult conversations is necessary for situations like making sales in your company, or having a difficult conversation with your spouse, or a job interview or the conversation with that rude person on the bus. In our day to day life, we need to develop this habit of having a difficult conversation.
The good news is that we can learn how to do this. It’s a muscle that we can strengthen.