"I didn't have any good teachers when it came to relationships--not really my fault, but it is my responsibility to try and identify when those tendencies are subconsciously creeping in--so I know that those responses aren't the only choice. Admittedly, I'm often not successful, but that's a good reason to keep trying."
That right there sums it up for me. Identifying and correcting what was so engrained is proving to more difficult than I ever could imagine but yes, good reason for me to keep trying as just a little progress really goes a long way. Thanks for sharing that S4S.