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When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade:
What to do When Conflicts Arise

Take the time to work through the following exercises designed to help you build on your understanding of conflicts and how they affect you. When possible, you may want to do your work online and then print it. Or, you may choose to print each exercise sheet and then complete it by hand. Whatever your choice, once you've finished each exercise, remember to print a copy of your work for your TRY-IT Personal Leadership Portfolio.

Have fun!

Prior Life Experiences Exercise 1:
*What Does Conflict Mean to You?*
	What does the word "conflict" mean to you? Reflect on what you think a conflict is, how conflicts have been a part of your life, and what you usually do to solve conflicts. Write your thoughts in your Reflection Journal. Be honest, and try to use specific examples.

Reflection Journal Entry

On the linked print-out sheet, jot down what conflict means to you.

Prior Life Experiences Exercise 2:
*Draw a Conflict*
	A conflict exists when two or more people have different positions on how to approach an issue (Fisher and Ury, 1991). This conflict can occur over anything — what restaurant to go to, what to name a pet, how much to spend on a new car, or a variety of other things. Draw or illustrate a conflict. Be as specific or as abstract as you like.

On the linked print-out sheet, draw a conflict.

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Prior Life Experiences Exercise 3:
*What Are Your Suggestions?*
	Read through the four situations described within this exercise involving conflict. Then, describe how the parties might compromise and/or reach a mutual agreement. A compromise is when a person sacrifices something in order to gain something else. In a mutual agreement, all members of a partnership or group support and abide by the same solution.

*What Are Your Suggestions?* On the linked print-out sheet, record your suggestions for how the parties in each situation might resolve their differences and reach a mutual agreement.

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Prior Life Experiences Exercise 4:
*Express Yourself with Words*
	Reflect again on your past experiences with conflicts. Think about what emotions were involved with the conflict. How did you feel? What happened when you couldn't come to an agreement with your partners? From the provided word bank, select a word or phrase to fill in the first blank of each sentence. Then finish the sentences with your own words.

*Express Yourself with Words* From the options below select the method by which you would like to complete this "Prior Life Experience Exercise."

Interactive Exercise	HTML	PDF for Printing
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