Some of my Best Ideas Have Come from Others - or - Why I Choose Not to Spit

Don't become upset when someone disagrees with your personal opinion, philosophy and/or beliefs. Instead, take the time to ponder and understand the reasoning behind the disagreement. Occasionally changing one's mind and admitting when one is wrong are not signs of weakness or indecisiveness. Learning is an endless process. Some of my best ideas have come from others.

Rather than taking the time to discern why their opinion is being challenged, some automatically become defensive and immediately counter attack. Unfortunately, Instead of refuting a statement with logic and fact, they sometimes resort to sarcasm, veiled insults and/or factoids based solely upon some vague personal experience that cannot be verified.

There are situations when capitulation or compromise is not possible and opponents must agree to disagree. However, if an intelligent debate devolves into a spitting match, the end result is always the same and, therefore, predictable. Nothing will be resolved and all of the participants will end up covered in spit.