# Resolve merge conflicts _Learn why conflicts happen and how to resolve them._

## Step 3: Create your own conflict _Good job! You've solved a merge conflict! :tada:_ Resolving a conflict doesn't automatically merge the pull request in GitHub. Instead, it stores the resolution of the conflict in a merge commit and allows you and your team to keep working. To resolve a conflict, GitHub performs what is known as a _reverse merge_. This means that the changes from the `main` branch were merged into your `my-resume` branch. With a reverse merge, only the `my-resume` branch is updated. This allows you to test the resolved changes on your branch before you merge it into `main`. Now, let's get a little evil. (It's for educational purposes!) ### :keyboard: Activity: Create your own conflict We went ahead and added a new file called `references.md` and pushed that change to `main`, without updating your `my-resume` branch. 1. Browse to the `my-resume` branch. 1. Click the `Add file` dropdown menu and then on `Create new file`. 1. Create a file named `references.md`. 1. Enter some text that conflicts with what we added for `references.md` in the `main` branch. 1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter a commit message for your change. 1. Click the **Commit new file** button, making sure the "Commit directly to the `my-resume` branch" option is selected. 1. Wait about 20 seconds then refresh this page (the one you're following instructions from). [GitHub Actions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions) will automatically update to the next step.