Something else came up today that made me reflect on why I usually always tend to respond in the first place. I notice when someone says something I disagree with I don't want to just walk away because I don't want them to think I agree with them. All my life I saw silence as consent to what they were saying or going along with what they said & I never wanted someone I disagreed with to think I agreed with them.
Lol....now I have my say & end the conversation with my rebuttal. For me it is very hard not to respond to things people say that I disagree with but with some people not responding at all is the best solution or taking control of the conversation & changing it in a different direction. The problem with having a different opinion that sometimes it ends up in an argument or twisting what you say & as you know from your experience.....not a good result either.
I have also realized that many times I have wanted to have the last say & that just drags the crap on rather than ending it. I became more aware of this lately & I can see it in others who are that way too & am getting more practiced in conversations