Ask Yourself:

 From Online Counseling College:

How to Stay out of Arguments

1. Ask yourself: Is important enough to fight about? Is this the right time and place to be having this argument? Will arguing about it change anything? If the answer is “no” then there’s no point arguing.
2. If you find the same person always picks an argument, plan strategies for helping you stay calm around them, so you don’t get drawn in to an argument.
3. Learn to recognize when things start to change and a conversation turns into an argument. Choose to stop and withdraw before things escalate.
4. Be aware of your triggers. Know the comments and looks that tend to set you off, and recognize when others are pressing your buttons – so you know to walk away or quickly take control.
5. Try not to take the comments too seriously – as the things that are said in an argument are rarely balanced and accurate. They’re usually meant to provoke and are wild exaggerations.