Posts Tagged ‘LaVena Wilkin’
Working Towards Forgiveness – A Model to Bring Peace to Your Life
Posted on Oct 27 2017 under Blog Posts | Tags: Abigail McManus, forgiveness, Forgiving Others, How do I forgive?, LaVena Wilkin, Patricia M. Porter, Peaceful life, reconciliation, Texas Conflict Coach
Pertinent Points:
- Forgiveness is a healthy and positive action you take for yourself.
- Forgiveness can happen without reconciliation. However, reconciliation cannot proceed without forgiveness.
- Apologies are never guaranteed. Forgiveness can occur without receiving an apology.
- When you forgive someone, you are NOT condoning what they did or implying that it is okay.
How can the P.E.A.C.E Model assist in forgiveness work?
- Perception and Clarification. Think about clarifying your perceptions of your needs, values, and desires. Dr. LaVena Wilkin says to ask yourself, “How are you benefiting from holding onto the anger? How would you benefit if you released that anger, resentment, and blame?” Be honest with your responses.
- Empathetic Listening. Listen to your heart, and put aside what your ego and pride are telling you. Ignore the voice telling you that if you forgive this person, then you are saying it is okay what they did.
- Appreciating Diversity. Appreciate and acknowledge all the different feelings and emotions that are coming up for you. You are not wrong to feel what you feel.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving. Forgiveness takes work. While collaborating with the person with whom you are angry is ideal, sometimes that person doesn’t believe they did anything wrong and are unwilling to work with you to reconcile. Instead, reach out to your support network and do collaborative problem-solving with them.
- Emotional Intelligence. Be aware of what triggers you and why. Don’t deny your anger, instead acknowledge it. Dr. LaVena Wilkin explains, “When you are aware of your emotions you can discriminate against them and better understand why you do the things you do and why others do the thing they do.”
Your Assignment:
In our interview with Dr. LaVena Wilkin on The Texas Conflict Coach® podcast, Dr. Wilkins’ suggested an assignment that can assist you in forgiving others. This is task is for YOU. Dr. Wilkins’ asks you to “Think about an area in your life that needs forgiveness work. Use the P.E.A.C.E Model to reflect and work through that area.”
To learn more about forgiveness, listen to the entire episode entitled: Forgiveness: The Gift You Give to Yourself
Abigail R.C. McManus, M.S Negotiation and Conflict Management
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