Set Rules for Conflict in Your Relationship

You are never going to agree with your spouse or partner on everything,
and you shouldn’t try to. But you must level the playing fi eld
in your discussions by deciding how you can air concerns to each other
in a format that allows both of you to be open.
JAMES LEIJA KNOWS a thing or two about confl ict. He’s a professional
boxer, among the best in the lightweight class. “Although I box, I hit
people, I do it within the rules,” he says. “You have to have rules—or
you have no sport.” James lives his life by the same standard.
James and his wife, Lisa, were high school sweethearts before getting
married. They have no wedding-day photos because James was still
black and blue from U.S. Olympic boxing trials on the big day.
Their fi rst years were lean. James turned pro but barely made enough
money to pay for his training expenses. Lisa worked as a receptionist
and paid for everything else.
The break fi nally came when James won a fi ght against a top contender.
By the time he had claimed the world junior lightweight title, he
was rich beyond his imagination.
Now, instead of money worries, they had to deal with groupies.
Women just threw themselves at him during autograph sessions. Before
the couple could argue over it, James thought about Lisa’s feelings and
decided to avoid places where he would draw too much attention.
“This is a sport where divorce is as common as blood in the ring,”
James’s manager points out. “But James and Lisa have fi gured out how
to put each other fi rst.”
When both partners in a relationship employ the same strategy for dealing
with disagreements, they experience 12 percent less confl ict and are 31
percent
more likely to report that their relationship is satisfying. (Pape 2001)