Conflict

The conflict resolution skill that I chose to work on this week was managing emotions. I tend to get really emotionally involved in what I'm doing and sometimes that becomes a problem. So for the past little while I have been trying to work on maintaining balance and not let my stress take over. And since this is the end of the term, we all have lots going on, so this was a perfect time to practice this skill. :)

I read a really great talk on lds.org that was given by Robert K. Wagstaff titled "Preparing Emotionally for Missionary Service." I'm not serving a mission anytime in the very soon future, but I hope to someday and so this talk seemed to fit well with that goal and also my goal of maintaining balance. The talk gave eight suggestions on how to be emotionally prepared for a mission, but I think it can also be applied to life in general, and it definitely helped me.

Seeing as I can't post the whole wonderful talk here, I'll just go through a few highlights. The first point I want to address is to "practice living a balanced life." College can make this easier, and also harder. It's easier to be balanced because for the most part, the only person you have to worry about taking care of is yourself. College is a great time to do new things, and learn a lot about yourself. However, it is also hard to be balanced because we are all being pulled in a million directions. One thing that I liked about the article is that it said, "Using a day-planning system and taking part in extracurricular activities can help young people learn to manage time and meet deadlines. Examples include holding a job or participating in activities such as sports, drama, clubs, student government, or community service." Participate in student government and service? Hmm... :) I think that this has some merit to it. When I am involved and spending my time becoming better, I feel better about what is going on in my life.

Another part that I really liked was the part that said, "They may feel distressed when the demands of being a missionary show them weaknesses they had never encountered before. But, as the prophet Ether taught, recognizing our weaknesses can teach us humility and reliance on the Lord and success in overcoming our weaknesses (see Ether 12:27)." Although this is talking about missionaries, I think it can apply to me. I have learned a lot about myself during this short term, but I also can relate to the idea that I have been shown weaknesses that I didn't know I had. And what a great opportunity I have to make those weaknesses strengths.

I had a great conversation with Sarah today about this article and what I have learned this week. We talked about how we've been commanded to be perfect, but we don't have to be perfect right now. Perfection right now for us is a journey. I still have a long way to go, but I feel like this week was a good learning experience for me.