In this episode, Dr. Shaw tackles the topic of what happens when we defend our positions during the course of disagreements. Her discussion was spurred by a recent personal experience, and it has been Dr. Shaw's philosophy for a long time to not take things personally. When confronted, most people get defensive, but when defending your position you are actually not being open to potentially valuable points of view.... plus, it's a waste of energy and disrespectful to the other person who is speaking with you. Dr. Shaw also admits that in the recent case where she didn't defend her position that the person she was dealing with was not really in her inner circle, and there's an important lesson in that... we and our children can all "practice" not being defensive and not taking it personally when the situation and the relationship isn't emotionally charged.