Week Two- Timer

Welcome back.

Okay, so this week was kind of crazy. So I have a roommate (I'm not going to say who), and she likes to leave at the last possible second. She doesn't like being late, but she doesn't waste any time between leaving the house and getting to class. This late-leaving tendency clashes with myself just a bit because I like to leave, and arrive early. I hate that feeling of being rushed and "Well crap, are we going to make it on time?".

This being said, I wanted to be able to leave and walk to class with this roommate, since we both have 8ams each day of the week. In my head, I created the perfect solution. I set the kitchen clock 5 minutes fast (which I knew she hated...).

In my mind, this game started.

I would change the clock. 

A few days would pass.

She would change it back. 

A few days would pass.

I would set it five minutes fast. 

A few days would pass.

She would change it back.

This happened several times, and lasted for several weeks. The overall purpose of this "mini-experiment" was to see if this small re-occurring change would cause a confrontation between myself and this roommate. I am pleased to say that it didn't come to a confrontation, although I am not sure why.

Through my research I have found that people often avoid confrontation to avoid certain types of pain.

• "Fear of loss. Some fear that confrontation will result in the other person leaving or determining that you are too high-maintenance to deal with."
• "Fear of causing pain. Some believe the other person is too fragile to handle being confronted, so they avoid the conflict in an effort to protect the other."
• "Fear of strain. Confrontation can be physically stressful- your muscles tense, your pulse rises, the adrenaline starts to flow-so some actually avoid the physical sensations that accompany it."
• "Fear of failure. You might raise your point only to see it shot down. Maybe you are off base, and a confrontation will bring that into light."

If I had to guess, the reason she refused to confront me about it was the either the first of the last reason, although it could be likely that she just didn't care enough to say anything. I guess we will never know. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/201406/how-confront