Admit your mistakes promptly.

Consider the proverb, “By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expected.” When you are accused of making a mistake, you can fight the allegation, and you might win, but you also might lose.

Instead, if you own up to your wrongs before the other person has a chance to accuse you, you appeal to their ego. By “condemning” yourself and admitting to your mistake, the only way for the other person to nourish his self-esteem is to take the high road and forgive you.