The more days I spend on this earth, the more frequently I encounter people who are conflict avoidant. If you follow my author page on Facebook, you may recall I mused about this one morning while strolling the property with the dogs. It was in the context of advice columns, of which I’m an obsessive consumer. Lately, I’ve been struck by the sheer numbers of people who write in for help navigating a mildly uncomfortable conversation. Like, the person who hired a terrible house cleaner who broke things and left scratches on counters. When the writer asked to skip a month, the housecleaner responded by asking if there was an issue and inviting a conversation.
Surprisingly, instead of simply having that conversation, the homeowner decided that writing a letter to a newspaper advice columnist seemed like a better choice.
But I digress…
