Hearing your kids fight is a practice in restraint. You want to jump in, bust out Mum or Dad Voice, and remind them that you didn't give them the gift of a sibling so they could spend their days screaming about whose cheese cracker is cheesier. However, as we know, there are good reasons to let kids engage in some healthy conflict.
In comedic improvisation, the principle of "yes and" means that first you agree with your partner's premise, and then you add to it. Without this essential principle, the scene couldn't go anywhere. And while applying "yes and" to real life is a bit of a business-world cliché, I've found that it's a great way to redirect potential arguments into jovial banter, and keep everyone on the same team.
Are you avoiding your family right now? So desperate to escape them that you're sitting in the bathroom reading a productivity blog on Christmas Day? Dreading the inevitable fight over politics or your lack of a plus-one or which kid hogged the university fund? Here's your solution: Get drunk and cause a scene.
I really dislike confrontation and will do pretty much anything in my power to avoid most arguments. Still, like anyone, I end up in a few every now and then. I've read a ton of different techniques for handling tense situations, but I heard some great advice this week: "Just ask what they want from the argument." The speaker attributed it to Oprah. While that might be true, there's no record I can find of her ever saying it. It is good advice, though.
In a perfect world, nothing bad would ever happen to anybody. On the other hand, some misfortunes can help to make you a better person. All of these experiences build empathy, teach a lesson, or make you appreciate the good things in life.
Every fight has a winner and a loser, and unless you spend some serious time training, there's a good chance you'll be the loser at least once. Hopefully, it will never happen, but if it does, these techniques will help you roll with the punches and walk away with only a few scrapes and bruises.
If you're lucky, you'll never have to defend yourself through physical violence. But if that time ever comes, or if you're ever enrolled in a Fight Club against your will, would you know what to do? You've seen punches thrown on TV plenty of times, but do you actually know how to throw one correctly? We asked three elite martial artists and a boxer to share their best takedown tips.
Forgiving someone doesn't always come easy, and if you know you should forgive, but you're having a hard time doing it, this video gives you a few mental tricks to help you along the way.
It's easy for a conversation to turn into a fight when you're distracted or multitasking. Body language and eye contact are a huge part of communication, and when you're not able to fully use them on the conversation at hand, it can often lead to a fight. Keep this from happening in your relationship with the "eye contact" rule: only have serious discussions when you're both able to make eye contact.
