Despite our best attempts to cultivate a shalom personality and to use all our techniques of keeping the shalom, occasionally we find ourselves in the throes of conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting into a fight with someone you\u2019re close to is an awful feeling. It generally comes with tension, anger, bitterness, and even fear. If the person is someone important \u2014 like a dear friend or family member \u2014 it can completely stop you in your tracks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might even feel like you and your world are broken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For our final week, we\u2019re going to focus on putting the pieces back together, and resolving the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the book The Million Dollar Word<\/em>, author Yitzchak Goldman addresses what should be the first tool in all conflict resolution \u2014 apology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You see, a sincere apology brings an end to the argument quickly and powerfully. It softens tensions, reduces anger, and opens doors of connection that were slammed shut by the harsh exchange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of all that, in an otherwise healthy relationship, an apology generally elicits a reciprocal apology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But for some reason, being the first to apologize is often a lofty hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goldman calls that hurdle the Wall of Ego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our ego balks at having to admit mistakes, and throws up a wall to stop us. The greater a person\u2019s struggle with their ego, the harder it will be to apologize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is quite clear from the Torah\u2019s epic narrative of conflict between Korach and Moses. Despite Korach\u2019s harsh and unjust accusations against Moses, Moses<\/em> is the first one to attempt to reconcile and apologize. Not surprisingly, Moses is lauded in the Torah as the humblest of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His humility empowered him to initiate an apology \u2014 even when he wasn\u2019t in the wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can apologize even if you don\u2019t feel like you were in the wrong. No one ever died from being the first to apologize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try this today: If you find yourself in an argument, see if you can muster up the courage to apologize first.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite our best attempts to cultivate a shalom personality and to use all our techniques of keeping the shalom, occasionally we find ourselves in the throes of conflict.<\/p>\n Getting into a fight with someone you\u2019re close to is an awful feeling. It generally comes with tension, anger, bitterness, and even fear. If the person is someone important \u2014 like a dear friend or family member \u2014 it can completely stop you in your tracks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-858","daily-lesson","type-daily-lesson","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-normal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n