Does your marriage suffer from unresolved conflict? Conflict in marriage is inevitable. But if we learn to handle it well, we can actually grow our relationship. Confidence that you and your spouse can handle conflict well is a gift to your marriage.
In fact, Dr. Kim teaches premarital couples that learning to resolve conflict well together is one of the best gifts you can give to your marriage, because it will help gain the confidence that you can tackle tough issues together as a team, and know that you can face whatever comes your way, together.
Although conflict will arise at times, relationship coach Laura Doyle says that you don’t have to RSVP to an argument. “Just acknowledging my hurt to myself and whoever’s listening goes a long way toward dissolving the illusion that someone else has to suffer or take the blame so I can feel better,” she says.
While conflict and disagreement are natural occurrences, one does not have to handle them with bitterness or anger. Laura shares several effective ways to handle the hurt feelings that marital conflict can cause, own your response, and move away from blaming your spouse.
At Awesome Marriage, we love helping couples learn to deal with conflict in a more healthy way. We talk about it often on the podcast, because growing confident in conflict resolution will help you work through the issues you face, agree on solutions for problems, and bring more peace and joy into your relationship.
If healthy conflict resolution is a pain point in your marriage today, we offer a quick start guide to help you find fast solutions. Our Conflict Resolution Cheat Sheet contains 25 of Dr. Kim’s best tips, all in one place that is easy to refer to when you need it. This Cheat Sheet contains steps to help you prevent conflict, fight fair in the heat of the moment, and recover your connection, as well as questions to help you reflect and implement these principles.
Use this cheat sheet to troubleshoot your conflict and help it become healthier and more productive.