Inner Conflict

I have always been the peace maker... a mediator - I don't like conflict and I will do anything to prevent it.
But lately, in my newly found sense of self, I have found myself stepping up to the plate to say what I am feeling (which tends to cause conflict) and then the peace maker in me freaks out because I am the source of the conflict ~ a conflict, that as the peace maker, I want to quickly resolve.
It is an internal struggle that I know the people around me don't understand. Most people that know me know I don't like to cause ripples, but in the same sense I am seeing that having my opinion heard (even when ripples are caused) is creating a surge of Independence and self-worth I have never felt before.