Was I really that stupidly defensive? The sad answer was yes. I was.
With age and experience I have come to understand something vital that I wish I’d understood long ago: Nothing in life is as destructive to good communication and healthy relationships as defensiveness. Nothing blinds us to our long-term goals more than acting impulsively and defensively in the face of perceived criticism. Nothing is better at making us commit acts of self-sabotage than lashing out when we feel attacked.
