Conflict and Fear
Conflict is often fuelled by fear, whether fear of something that is not known or understood, or fear of humiliation or physical or emotional pain. Fear can get us into bad situations, but fear can also be the best thing to get us out.
For example, a person who carries a knife carries it out of fear of not being able to defend themselves if they were attacked. But a person who discovers that they are more likely to be stabbed if they are carrying a knife might then choose not to carry one, as they don't want to carry a weapon that others can then use against them.
Weapons such as knives are occasionally used in conflict, they wound and leave scars and even kill. But our words can cut deep, our actions can sabotage and our unwillingness to compromise can destroy another person's confidence and self esteem. Usually we don't mean to hurt people, but instead to stop ourselves from becoming the victim. This behaviour eventually will lead to us being more likely to be hurt in the long term as others will not trust us.
