The Battle Within: How to Resolve Your Internal Conflict and Find Peace

We face different kinds of conflicts daily. Some are more visible and apparent. Most of the time, the term ‘conflict’ is used when we have disagreements with other people. Over the course of history, human beings have come up with different ways to resolve whatever kind of conflict they face. Some of these methods include mediation, therapy or compromise.

It is somewhat easier to find a solution to a conflict or problem when it is right in front of you, but what do you do when the conflict you face is inside you. This is what we refer to as internal conflict.

It is not uncommon for people to face internal conflicts in their personal lives. Often, these conflicts arise when the actions we are faced with make difficult decisions that clash with our personal convictions. Internal conflicts can lead to great distress in the individual suffering from them. This is because they are not always easy to externalise or voice out.

In some cases, the individual may have physical manifestations and symptoms of their internal conflicts. These symptoms look different depending on the individual but it does not happen very often.

Most of the time, internal conflicts aren’t physically apparent but they can cause great physical distress to the person experiencing them. In the workplace, physical conflicts could make an individual unable to carry out their responsibilities and tasks. This happens when the person’s personal convictions are at odds with their required tasks and activities in the workplace.

It is necessary to find solutions to conflicts of this nature as soon as possible because they could have devastating effects on an employee’s ability to function and be productive in the workplace.

In this article, we take a deep dive into how internal conflicts work as well as how to approach and resolve them in the workplace.

Understanding Internal Conflict

Most people are unaware that there is anything called an internal conflict, much less how to resolve it when they have one. This is why we have a lot of people going around with a consistent feeling of distress without any clue of how to resolve their issues.

In the workplace, an internal conflict refers to the emotional suffering and disagreement that occurs in the mind of an individual. Anyone can have an internal conflict, including employees and team leaders. Even recruiters may suffer from an internal conflict from time to time.

The reason why internal conflicts can be a big problem is that they can lead to great emotional or psychological distress in the mind of a person, and it can occur in different forms. Sometimes, an internal conflict can arise when a person cannot make a decision on which task to prioritise. It could also occur when an employee’s personal convictions and values are at odds with their tasks and duties in the workplace. This leads to feelings of stress and dissatisfaction in the employee that may affect the quality of work and prevent the organisation from achieving its goals easily.

Self-sabotage is a direct resultant effect of having an internal conflict in many cases. There are many ways self-sabotage could occur in an employee experiencing an internal conflict:

• A major way is procrastination leading to lack of productivity. In an instance where an employee has two major tasks to take care of, they may end up procrastinating as a result of indecision. This inability to make a decision could make it hard for the employee to start on any task.
• Self-sabotage in internal conflict could also occur when an employee is assigned a task that they do not have the skills necessary to complete the job. They may feel scared or reluctant to speak up about their difficulties. This leads to a poorly done task that either wastes time or jeopardises the overall project. In some cases, they may end up dumping the task altogether, leaving them at risk of losing their jobs.
• Internal conflict in the workplace is also when a team member is privy to an instance of corruption from the team lead or employer. They may be conflicted as to whether or not to report the problem or keep quiet.

Most of the time, each of these instances hinder productivity and make it hard for a team to work together and carry out their jobs on time. This is why it is necessary for employers to prioritise the mental and emotional health of employees.

Identifying the Root Causes of Internal Conflict

Internal conflict is not always easy to identify. Sometimes, it may go unnoticed if you do not know what you are looking for. This is why introspection is required from time to time. It helps to take a moment to try to understand the root of your distress rather than just pushing it aside in the hopes that it resolves itself and goes away on its own.

Mental health issues and emotional disturbances are such a big problem because they can cause a great deal of distress if not properly addressed. In order to properly resolve internal conflicts, the root causes must first be addressed and taken care of;

1. Ask questions: It does no good to keep quiet when you are confused about a task in the workplace. Speaking can help you understand expectations and motivations to avoid confusion.
2. Understand the stakes involved. This makes it easier to make the right choices and figure out how best to prioritise when faced with difficult choices.
3. Find a suitable work-life balance: You can’t make the right decisions if you do not have a healthy work-life balance. Stress can make internal conflicts appear bigger than they really are.

In order to find inner peace and work towards overcoming self-sabotage, people need to first be self-aware. It is only through self-awareness that we can understand our feelings and how to resolve them. Self-awareness forces you to be honest with yourself and confront the things causing distress in your mind.

An added advantage of being self-aware is that it allows people to become more aligned with their personal values and beliefs. This makes it easier to be aware of the exact circumstances causing an internal conflict at any given moment. This way, you can make the right decisions to put you in a more suitable state of mind.

Resolving Internal Conflict

Like with most emotional disturbances, internal conflicts can be resolved by using mindfulness practises. This means that you focus more closely on the state of your mind and emotions so as to find the causes of your emotional distress. by practising meditation and mindfulness exercises, you gain an ability to see the bigger picture and find solutions to the things putting you in distress.

Plus, you gain a deeper insight into the inner workings of your mind so you can figure out how to avoid an internal conflict in the future. In many cases, you gain the necessary skills to live a more productive and stress-free life.

Strategies for Managing Negative Thoughts and Emotions

Negative thoughts can be destabilising, especially when they are left to fester and grow. The longer we live with negative feelings and emotions, the less likely we are to be able to handle difficult situations. This is why internal conflicts need to be resolved as quickly as possible because they make you see only the negative sides of situations.

1. Utilise mindfulness and self-help techniques to gain a different perspective on things.
2. Identify your negative thoughts and their triggers
   Ask for help
3. Identify positive triggers
4. Be receptive to feedback on personal growth and development

Seeking Help

We can’t always work through all our issues on our own. Hence’ the need to seek the assistance of a professional coach. Such individuals can point us in the right direction so we can figure out how best to resolve our negative emotions before they get too serious.

Therapists and coaches are professionally trained to help people improve the quality of their lives. Most of the time, they provide an outlet through which people can express themselves and understand their emotions better. Most of the time, all we need for emotional healing is to voice out what we’re feeling and talk to someone who is willing to listen. Coaches can guide us and show us better ways of approaching problems so we do not get overwhelmed with our internal conflict.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you need to understand your personal values so you can be familiar with the way your mind works. It is not uncommon to be faced with difficult situations in the workplace. In order to find peace, you need to resolve whatever personal conflicts you may have.

Seeking help from a professional coach or therapist is a step in the right direction towards resolving internal conflicts more easily. Digital coaching is one of the easiest ways of getting the help you require.