#Write31Days: 26 • confront

Wednesday 26 October: confront

Confront a person or situation; initiate a confrontation; engage in what people perceive as confrontational behavior. As one of those words and attitudes that often gets bad press, "confront" doesn't necessarily mean negative or scary. Why did I say that? Because of my reputation for (quote) "overdeveloped skills in reconciliation, accommodation, and peacemaking, I do everything imaginatively possible to consider where the person who said that, did that, or neglected to do whatever it was might be coming from. Imagine their entire human history, or at least the past ten or twelve years, or at very least what's gone on with them during their time with this organization. I do everything imaginable not to have a reason even to question them, let alone confront them. You know about assertiveness training. Do I need that? Probably. But the irony is I cannot count the number of people who have perceived me as assertive or even as aggressive—as in confrontational.