The Power to Walk Away

How do you manage potentially explosive situations? Where tempers are beginning to flare, tensions are steadily rising and hot buttons are being pushed?

What happens with many people is that they remain in the scenerio, either hoping to talk things over calmly, or to make their intention emphatically clear. But this can only resolve if the other individual is willing to listen. But sometimes, the other person can be willfully challenging. They can be persons who get off on pushing your hot buttons.

What happens then? A likely scenerio is that like a bee to a flower, you continue to engage in the conversation, the other party continues to gall you, and *snap!*, the last straw breaks you. At this junction, when self control is lost, you may raise threats, utter scathing remarks, or direct potshots that you immediately regret.

In a social setting, you may end up looking rash, petty and uncouth. In a business or corporate setting, you may appear to be antagonistic and quick tempered. In a personal context, you may end up really hurting a loved one. In the long term, angry outbursts will strained or soured any relationship.

If you find yourself quite unintentionally getting yourself into potentially explosive situations, how can you avoid actually from exploding?

Of course, you walk away...

A seemingly simple to do, but something that can be extremely challenging to put it in practice, especially when you felt that you've been seriously misunderstood. You'd want to have it out and explain your position until the other party understands, right?

That's what keeps you there. That's what makes you reiterate your arguments again and again until they begin to sound meaningless. In this situation, you're at a losing end; it's simply more sensible and rationale to walk away.

Do you have the power to walk away from possibly-explosive scenarios? Are you able to postpone defending yourself to another appropriate time? Can you maintain your cool and refrain from saying or doing something you'll regret later?

Becasue when you matter about winning in such situations, you lose. You're the one who feels the pressure, you're the one who seems antagonistic and defensive. It will be difficult at the start, but practice walking away and you'll understand just how powerful it can be in defusing explosive situations and even persuade other to see things your way.