Mediation – With One's Self Before One Another (I)

Often times life has a peculiar way of throwing obstacles at us – some have clear cut solutions while others may fall into more of a 'blurred line' category. The former may be the everyday errand. Answers are relatively simple. The latter, however, tends to be (or appear) more complex in its nature purely because not only does it exist as a problem in itself, it also serves as an avenue for emotions, perspectives, values and morals to which are subjected to the individual's understanding of the world. Naturally, incompatibility between perspectives and goals arise and from this – disputes are born. This tend to boil down to conflicting wants of two or more parties and the inability/lack of will to realise their individual goals partially as to allow for all parties to walk away with something.

Everybody handles, views and values confrontation differently, but in general it is an exchange that often results in negative feelings towards the other party. Reconciliation, the thing the comes next (or at least a ways down the road), is a whole lot more beautiful but ironically cannot exist without the former – that statement isn't true the other way round though. In the posts to come this will be covered with more depth but for today, lets delve instead into mediating conflict within yourself before attempting to resolve an issue with another person.

For those not already familiar with it, mediation is an approach in which parties enter in a negotiation that is facilitated by a neutral third party and is categorised as a means of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Mediation, however, is a voluntary process that involves the participants reaching a mutually favourable outcome that they decide is fair – this in my opinion can be more effective than arbitration, where decision making involves the third party and in result, may not yield the same extent of satisfaction. This puts the parties involved at risk of forced closure, thus not really tackling the issue at a grassroots level. At Mediate2Resolve Online, we offer professional mediation services for a host of situations, ranging from disputes with a boss or co-worker, to miscommunications at home. Please click here to be taken to our website and explore our full range of services and workshops.