Dog Poop and Conflict

Isn’t this a beautiful picture of a glorious winter? From all the beauty that we can see in this picture we know that something is wrong. That snow is covering poop.

This past weekend I picked up my dog’s poop that had accumulated over the winter. It was a bittersweet moment, bitter because it was poop, but sweet because I know had a clean backyard. So what does that have to do with conflict?

Over the winter, I would let my dog out whenever she needed to use the great outdoors and she would go and do her business and then come back in. When I would look outside I wouldn’t see a lawn covered in poop, I would only see the nice, clean, whiteness of snow out my window. The only thing we fail to realize sometimes is that the poop doesn’t disappear. In fact, it multiplies day by day.

This can happen with conflict as well. We can ignore conflict, glaze over it, and pretend it’s not there. We can pretend it’s not there because we don’t see it, but sooner or later, the snow is going to melt and we are going to be up to our knees in poop. Then what? Then we have a bigger problem (or more problems) to deal with instead of the initial one that we didn’t address.

Whether you are a business or a family, ignoring the poop is going to cost you time and money if it is not dealt with appropriately. Know the conflict that is around you and learn how to address the conflict that you need to address. Not sure how? Give me an email and we’ll chat [email protected]

                       

Jason Dykstra

Jason is a Conflict Management Specialist who is helping organizations and congregations move from conflict situations to creative solutions. He specializes in relational and communication issues and uses his experience and training in mediation, group facilitation, conflict management coaching, speaking and teaching to aid you and your surroundings to better… MORE >