Assume good intent the first time. Ask questions the second. Have the real talk the third.

Most things that look deliberate are not, and treating a single incident as a pattern manufactures a conflict out of somebody’s bad day. Treating a pattern as a single incident is the opposite error, and it lets something keep happening while you stay polite about it. Having a sequence means you neither overreact to the first time nor ignore the fourth.

Decide which number you are on before you respond to anything this week. First time, let it go completely. Second time, ask what happened rather than accusing. Third time, say the thing you have been avoiding, calmly and once.