Defensive Conversations

When it comes to acting defensive in a conversation or argument I can think of plenty of times that I have been.  I tend to take a lot after my mother in personality and emotions.  Like her I consider myself strong-willed, determined, stubborn, and opinionated.  Due to some of these similarities I tend to be defensive on particular subjects and in arguments.  I have been in arguments with friends, family, and my girlfriend and I tend to be defensive on my side of the story when I feel I'm being attacked.  Certain times I tend to be wrong and other times I tend to be right.  Either way I notice myself never always taking a defensive stance on the subject.  I place this more on a factor of pride since I don't like being wrong.  I need to learn that sometimes I just need to learn to "bite the bullet" to resolve the issue from getting way more out of control than it needs to be.  This is an issue that is not easy for me to resolve since it's a trait that I feel has been lingering since I was a teenager, but it doesn't mean that it is impossible to accomplish.