"The single biggest Achilles heel of human beings is our inability to handle personal criticism without becoming defensive."
"When people feel threatened, they retreat into tribalism and get defensive."
"Cancel culture was the diagnosis and the term became a catch-all defense for those trying to evade public criticism."
"Your womanhood hasn't been erased by a single fucking person."
"Your question... struck me as an incredibly defensive answer meant to shut down a legitimate line of inquiry."
"He became very defensive about his authority."
"The next time you feel defensive, take a breath and get curious."
"It's about listening, it's about not being defensive."
"Is there a better response that I can choose if I don't want to be defensive?"
"It's just so thoroughly frustrating and insulting when people who know very little about what we do watch an up-and-coming technology and have the audacity to call us all criminals."
"If in the face of criticism all you can do is throw stupid names like feminazi at people maybe they have some valid criticism."
"They avoid confrontation, sweep things under the rug, and get defensive."
"We're in great shape... You shouldn't be asking that kind of a question."
"Trying to sort of have a normal conversation with you, and I think you're being quite guarded."
"I feel like it's a less effective form of genuine criticism for people because it makes them get their guard up."
"You were misled. Stop justifying it. Let your guard down, take your ego out of the equation."
"Playing dead when someone gets on him or gets near him."
"There's no way anyone again that's not an absolute psychopath can argue that I was on drugs."
"The truth requires no defending. The more truthful you are, the less defensive you are."
"I am not this monster people make me out to be."
"Eye contact makes people back off a little bit in a threatening situation."
"This is my home! We've seen her do this before."
"Defensiveness is the arch enemy of listening."
"Try not to be defensive and attack people randomly because you're hurting or because you're frustrated or because you're so stuck in your ways that you can't be flexed at all."
"Don't call people out. People will get defensive instantly."
"Setting boundaries doesn't mean being defensive."
"It's time to walk through it. Take action, walk through that door. Let your guard down, stop being so defensive about everybody, and do not try to control the situation that you're in right now."
"Slander is the tool of the person who loses the debate."
"It's just good to want to improve yourself, and I think that it's a character flaw to get really, really defensive when you're reminded that there are better ways to live your life."
"The fact that you're coming for my hairline just proves how delusional you are."
"The more you defend, the less likely you are to see criticisms."
"The fact that I'm pronouncing wrong or right doesn't change the fact that they're wrong."
"For it to escalate to the point where they're joking about her being the face on an ugly Christmas sweater... how can anyone defend that? That's insane." - Ben
"Walls up big time, you're up to here with a situation right now, you're not having it."
"Stop assuming that we're talking about you, stop taking offense for [__] that doesn't involve you."
"Nobody wants to be accused of racism, right? And now, I feel like a lot of people are being very extra to prove that they're not racist because everybody's so quick to point the fingers and accuse them of being just that."
"So defensive, I have duct tape. So defensive, I have tape that I can... I mean in the history of any violent situation ever."
"That's big girl. You see how you said I don't care about the media because I'm bringing harm to them? No, listen. You're giving these [__] too much credit."
"They're very defensive, lashing out, mean deflecting."
"How can I be wrong? I'm not fully wrong, I can't be bad."
"Someone feels frustrated here, almost as if there has been some sort of guard, some sort of prickliness."
"I didn't do anything bro, why are you being so mean to me?"
"Your walls are definitely up. You're definitely not believing what this person has to say. You're not... It kind of makes you happy to see the shoe on the other foot."
"You're just too sensitive or you're overreacting. It's their way of saying, 'I don't want to have to be reminded that I'm flawed.'"
"You push past people's defenses, you make them less defensive."
"When you feel the need arise to be defensive about anything, know that you have identified yourself with an illusion."
"Learning to become less defensive and more open is going to make a big difference in your life. It's just going to give you so much more joy and freedom."
"Defensiveness then becomes this ingrained behavior."
"The law of defensiveness delves into our instinctual need to protect our self-image and identity."
"Some people get really mad and defensive over gatekeeping certain things."
"Defensiveness is the arch enemy of connection and intimacy."
"When other people hold you accountable for your wrong and you get defensive, that's because you haven't held yourself accountable."
"It's like if at any moment this person says the wrong thing to me, you know? It's like it's tense, it's thick, it's tense energy, it's defensive, it's you know, saying things."
"I told her not to jump to conclusions in the future but she was exceptionally defensive of her stupid actions."
"I think it's really rare to see an apology online that feels genuine and done in a timely manner without the person immediately getting defensive..."
"You want to fight for a relationship with this person so you do want something with this person but you also feel quite defensive."
"Defensiveness kills closeness. Why? Because if someone gets super defensive, then that other person in that relationship feels like they've gotta walk on eggshells."
"The best thing to do is to keep your cool and remove yourself from the situation because the second we get defensive is the second that they're gonna like maximize that okay."
"You're very protective of yourself."
"Sure, I'm defensive... because it always comes down to an accusation that you're just in it for the money. Nobody likes to be told they're just in it for the money."
"He's got a giant chip on his shoulder."
"People are defensive when it comes to choices we force on them."
"Even if someone brings up an issue with you, you're not as receptive because it's not fair."
"Whenever you become defensive about anything, know that you have identified with an illusion."
"Don't you dare assume how old I am."
"When you get defensive and triggered, that's your number one sign that this is true about you."
"Why the defensiveness? Why the protectiveness over these people that she again barely knows?"
"They're feeling incredibly defensive and annoyed at themselves for not making a decision about you yet."
"Being too defensive can also hinder you from progressing as much."
"If you are feeling defensive because there's a lot of defensiveness in this, then this reading is not telling you to drop your boundaries or to drop your standards."
"It's always a bit of a red flag when someone is just too defensive about everything."
"People can go in trying to help someone but then feel like they're getting attacked, and then your first instinct may be to feed into it."
"Communicate how you feel, but also someone else communicates with you, you have to be able to accept it and not be defensive."
"Whether it's like breast milk or formula like we said VBAC or C-section you know a lot of that comes from defensiveness of like I don't want to feel like my choice was invalidated by other people encouraging the other thing, other thing, right?"
"I want to be introspective and think to myself instead of like getting all defensive and being like, well, you guys, come on, don't take everything so seriously."
"He's not wanting to present an inside to be taken from him."
"When we are triggered by another person's behavior, it's still not justification to be defensive."
"If you attack me and say that my time could be better spent doing other things, I will react like an animal that has been backed into a corner. I will react like a feral possum in a garbage can if you even suggest to me kindly that I should do something else."
"I don't know why you're attacking me when nobody else has a problem."
"Instead of being defensive, be grateful."
"Anytime my brain is like default to defensiveness, default, default, I'm like nope, override, override gratitude, override."
"They felt very attacked somehow, maybe in their life generally or in their relationship with you."
"Pride becomes irritated when corrected for mistakes."
"Defensiveness is when something is pointed out that could even be true because trust has begun to dry up. Instead of receiving the correction or the advice or the wisdom, we are quick to shift the blame."
"...if you're having problems in your relationship, what ends up happening is that... gets increased as the stress increases and then we don't even realize that we're defensive... we're overwhelmed."
"You're looking rich, oh, you fancy, huh? You got people watching, okay? And they're emotionally defensive. This could be those hidden feelings."
"Being defensive when people come at you doesn't make you a bad person."
"There's a baked-in defensiveness of crypto."
"The most human response to public shaming is typically defensiveness."
"If there is a toxic group of people on this planet Earth, it's the people who are quote unquote worried about you."
"You're feeling attacked, there's a reason."
"People change when they hear someone has been murdered, even if they aren't the culprit. They often get tight-lipped and defensive."
"Nene is the most defensive I have ever seen her be."
"I think that when things hit self-esteem, people become defensive."
"You guys have been very defensive about this healing process."
"Your worldview is your framework and when our framework is challenged, we naturally just pull up the drawbridge, cross our arms, and become defensive."
"Make sure you keep your responses light-hearted and don't lash out defensively."
"A lot of things can really be solved if you stop getting defensive."
"Before you judge me, take a look at you. Can't you find something better to do?"
"When the walls go up and they begin to give excuses as to why what they did was right, there's always a reason, there's always an excuse."
"All that defensiveness...just puts barriers between yourself and other individuals."
"Narcissists knowing that they have improper behaviors and improper motives, they'll go into a strong sense of defensiveness."
"I push away the people that I love the most; why? I don't want anyone to know I'm vulnerable."
"I shouldn't have got defensive, I should have just said yeah, I also dabble in breathing."
"I treasure these jokes. How dare you."
"They're extremely defensive of allowing this blessing that is you into their life."
"Every time I ask you direct questions, you are triggered."
"We all have egos, and so like we automatically get defensive when our egos get bruised."
"I'm always on the defense and I'm hypersensitive, and a lot of times I don't interpret things properly, that's a flaw of mine."
"I never get defensive; I never take it personal. I just become more empathetic to them."
"Learning to lead with curiosity instead of leading with defensiveness."
"I don't want to be so defensive that I don't go towards a future that feels fulfilling."
"It starts by really making the determination that you're not going to be defensive."
"It's not okay to be defensive. I want to stop that regardless of what it's going to take."
"Yes is commitment, yes encroaches on autonomy, yes makes people defensive."
"Why are we always on the defensive? How are they the ones in the institutions in the positions of power?"
"We cannot become defensive because as soon as we become defensive, any truth that comes to us, we reject immediately."
"The way that we can have such unending compassion and tenderness, patience and kindness toward the part of us that becomes defensive, is that this defensive part of you is only wanting one thing: to be loved."
"Women are automatically on the defensive, and I get so many comments like, 'Oh, you're saying that they can only wear their hair straight? They're only supposed to wear their hair straight?' No, baby, no."
"Don't let your differences be an excuse or a reason to start being defensive."
"What kind of mother do you think I am, unfit? Of course, he was in a life jacket."
"If we remove the defensiveness... we need to fix it, period."
"All of us have done something, so don't go there with me, don't get me started now."
"Do you like the series now? Can you please stop making fun of me for watching it? Just leave me alone."
"I will not hear an ounce of criticism about this book."
"It is virtually impossible to be defensive with your hands open."
"The more space and time I allowed myself for that, the more I realized no, that was just my defensiveness."
"It's not always a call for defensiveness and shrinking; there is always growth to be had."
"Practicing love dropping over defensiveness."
"Learning how to accept each other's things and not be defensive... learning how not to be defensive."
"If you can really stand in a place where you're not defensive... that's actually very healing."
"No, no, I'm saying it's the opposite of defensive. Why is everyone also defensive?"
"It's all about protecting purchasing power, sometimes it's all about just keeping cash and being protective and defensive."
"People who are defensive, people who are quick to anger, that is always rooted in fear."
"Defensiveness is a sign of weakness; communicate in a more empowered way."
"There is a blessing, there's an opportunity coming in for you that you have been very defensive about."
"There's a defensiveness but also under that defensiveness, there is a little hope, a little light shining of hope."
"Every time you look back, it causes you to look like you're the one that's hostile."
"You don't have to get defensive every single time you get held accountable."