Accept People and Confront Problems

Doing otherwise invites shame, hostility, defensiveness, and rebuttal. These factors set us up for nonproductive negotiations. ~ Beattie, Melody. Beyond Codependency: And Getting Better All the Time (p. 195). Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition. Too often we begin "resolving differences" by confronting people while feeling obligated to mitigate issues. We've got that backwards and in the process destroy the possibility of mutually acceptable outcomes. Let's not discount the people involved because there seems to be no middle ground.