A well-handled small disagreement can make future cooperation feel safer.

Small conflicts handled well are how people learn what you are like when something goes wrong. Before the first disagreement, cooperation rests on hope, and afterwards it rests on evidence. If a minor difference was aired without either person turning cruel or disappearing, you both now know the relationship can carry weight. That knowledge makes the next larger thing far less frightening.

Next time a small irritation appears, raise it instead of absorbing it. Handle it plainly and then finish, so the two of you have a record of coming through something intact.