If someone says something that offends you, remember you’re hearing them through your filter. They may not mean it the way you heard it. Instead of responding defensively, tell them how it sounded to you without accusing them. This gives them the opportunity to explain what they actually mean without the conversation becoming adversarial. They aren’t any more responsible for how your conditioning makes you feel than you are for how their conditioning makes them sound. When you use that split second gap before you react to become conscious enough to respond with a clarifying question…
Everyone wins.
