Conflict Quotes

“Never cut what you can untie.”
Joseph Joubert

It’s the repairs that matter.

“Trying to evade all conflicts and arguments is not possible. Interpersonal conflict happens because egos exist. Approaching conflict with selflessness and the goal to understand helps harmony reappear more easily.”
Yung Pueblo

Calm; don’t silence.

“sometimes deeper mental clarity
is preceded by great internal storms”
Yung Pueblo, Inward (Page 21)

Sometimes avoidance isn’t the best strategy.

“When your sparring partner scratches or head-butts you, you don’t then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, but with a healthy avoidance. You should act this way with all things in life. We should give a pass to many things with our fellow trainees. For, as I’ve said, it’s possible to avoid without suspicion or hate.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, via The Daily Stoic (Page 128)

Vironika Tugaleva Quote on Conflict and How It Can Lead To the Most Profound Personal Growth

“The most profound personal growth does not happen while reading a book or meditating on a mat. It happens in the throes of conflict—when you are angry, afraid, frustrated. It happens when you are doing the same old thing and you suddenly realize that you have a choice.”
Vironika Tugaleva

Beyond the Quote (335/365)

Whenever you find yourself angry, frustrated, upset, or otherwise losing your cool, it helps to ask yourself: What state of mind is going to help me get through this in the most ideal way? I know, I know. Who is going to seriously ask themselves that question when they’re pissed off? It’s almost comical to think about someone who is about to blow their gasket—pausing—and asking themselves, “What state of mind is going to help me get through this in the most ideal way?” But, as comical as it sounds, within the framework of that question is a profound personal growth opportunity.

“We must look deeply into the nature of our volition to see whether it is pushing us in the direction of liberation from suffering and toward peace and compassion, or in the direction of affliction and misery. What is it that we really want deep in our heart? Is it money, fame, power? Or is it finding inner peace, being able to live life fully and enjoy the present moment?”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor

Beyond the Quote (244/365)

How to achieve inner peace? Eliminate all inner conflict. For what is peace but the absence of war? And who is less at peace than the person who is constantly at war within themselves? As is evidenced from throughout human history and in modern times, eliminating war is no easy feat. There are very real threats that, time and time again, have called for war under the context that the fight was (and is) for the greater good. And while the means for achieving peace in the external world are (and will forever be) up for debate because we all share this world together—achieving inner peace is something that is (and will forever be) up to only you.

“I have lived with several Zen masters—all of them cats. Even ducks have taught me important spiritual lessons. Just watching them is a meditation. How peacefully they float along, at ease with themselves, totally present in the Now, dignified and perfect as only a mindless creature can be. Occasionally, however, two ducks will get into a fight—sometimes for no apparent reason, or because one duck has strayed into another’s private space. The fight usually lasts only for a few seconds, and then the ducks separate, swim off in opposite directions, and vigorously flap their wings a few times. They then continue to swim on peacefully as if the fight had never happened. When I observed that for the first time, I suddenly realized that by flapping their wings they were releasing surplus energy, thus preventing it from becoming trapped in their body and turning into negativity. This is natural wisdom, and it is easy for them because they do not have a mind that keeps the past alive unnecessarily and then builds an identity around it.”
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 190)

“If you want to resolve a dispute or come out from conflict, the very first thing is to speak the truth. If you have a headache and tell the doctor you have a stomachache, how can the doctor help? You must speak the truth. The truth will abolish fear.” ~ Ziauddin Yousafzai, I Am Malala

“Conflict cannot survive without your participation.” ~ Wayne Dyer

“Leaders do not avoid, repress, or deny conflict, but rather see it as an opportunity.” ~ Warren Bennis

“Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.” ~ John Wooden

“Commitment in the face of conflict produces character.” ~ Unknown

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” ~ William Channing

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” ~ William E. Channing

“Troubles, like babies, grow larger by nursing.” ~ Lady Holland