Dealing With Confrontation With A Non-Confrontational Personality
Stepping out of my comfort zone
I’m a very non-confrontational person. I like to settle disputes and conflicts through conversations and giving people time and space to process things. I don’t enjoy getting into arguments with friends or with co-workers about anything.
But no matter my own personal preferences in dealing with confrontations and conflicts, as a teacher, I have had numerous incidents where I have had to step outside my comfort zone and discipline students. I have written about some incidents where I had to give tough love where everything in my nature screams that it is the wrong thing to do.
As an authority figure dealing with kids with a high level of trauma, it feels like every day can be a warzone with my nonconfrontational personality. And I wish to my core that that wasn’t the case, and that there would be another way for me to deal with the challenges I face instead of strict and firm discipline.
I reminisce on the days of my childhood, of my parents’ screaming matches and how my current personality reflects my aversion to trouble and confrontation. For a long time, because of how uncomfortable I was with my parents’ constantly fighting and yelling at each other, I thought I could go through life completely peaceful…
