Learning the Art of Compromise

I am terribly stubborn. I am aware of that. It has something to do with the fact my heritage is Irish-Scottish. After that, my stubbornness seems almost inevitable. My being stubborn has never bothered me before, but it appears that I may have to learn how to compromise.

For many years I have done things my own way in my own time. I like having my own space and being able to create that in exactly the way I want to. This is the first place in my life that I have come to that the time in someone else's life matters as much as the timing in my own. It doesn't mean compromising the timing my own life as much as making slight adjustments.

The art of compromise doesn't really extend to the area of making plans. Those seem to match up all too well. The art of compromise comes from little things, like not getting take-our on nights I can't cook, but letting someoen else cook in a way I wouldn't. Or being able to share the space in my small galley kitchen without attempting to do everything in the way I would.

Amazing how many small things require compromise when you try and share your life with another person. I didn't realize that I was so stuck in my ways myself. After living with a friend who likes everything exactly the way she sets it up, I thought I was extremely flexible. The reality is that I am simply queen of a land called Passive Aggressiva.

When it comes to getting ready to spend a lifetime with someone, compromise seems to be the most powerful tool. I have rarely found that compromise is a worthy end, but there have very rarely been relationships that have been worthy of compromise.

Finding someone who is worthy of learning the art of compromise is special. It's also hard. But worth it when the stakes are high enough.