When I am in an unbalanced power relationship, it feels as
though I am trapped and unsafe to share my feelings and trust with the other
person. When I have less power I feel as though I am being patronized and
treated like a piece of property rather than a human being. I do not feel like
I can be myself with this person for fear of being judged and told that I am
“wrong.” I find it can be scary as well. It feels as though there is no way to
reason with the person, and that my emotional health is at risk. It makes
conflict incredibly hard to manage, because the other person gets very loud and
ignores any point I try to make. They always assume they are right, and
anything I say goes in one ear and out the other. There is no regard for my
feelings or wellbeing. When I have more power, I feel uncomfortable because I
like to have a harmonious environment, and I do not like to order others to do
things. In a position of power, I prefer to let others have a hand in
accomplishing a common goal. I like to show empathy and work with others. I am
certainly not perfect at handling this position, but I would like to think that
I strive to make sure that I am fair to everyone involved. Sometimes, however,
I can become a bit self-centered when it comes to certain relationships. I can
relate to the example given in the textbook about working on a group project,
because sometimes I feel as though I can work a bit better on my own and I try
to take on too much. This chapter is very enlightening, and has definitely made
me reflect on my own behavior.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked about your post is that you used the word unsafe in an unpowered relationship and I never thought to use that word. I guess when there is an unbalance of power in a relationship the trust isn’t there and when you don’t trust someone you tend to feel unsafe. I agree with you that this chapter has made me also reflect on my behavior and has opened up some opportunities for me to grow. When people take advantage of having that power, it makes the other person just shut down, why bother communicating when your always going to be wrong and they don’t listen to what you really have to say. I don’t think having the power is always necessarily wrong, I think that when the right person has the power it can have a positive outcome.