The next conversation should not require forgetting what the last one taught.

Some relationships run on a permanent reset. Every discussion starts from the beginning, as though the previous one had not happened, and the same ground has to be recovered before anything new can be said. That is exhausting, and it usually means one side is not carrying anything forward. Progress in any long conversation depends on things staying settled once they have been settled.

Before your next difficult exchange, write down what was agreed last time and open with it. If you find that the same points keep needing to be re-won, name that pattern gently, because it is a bigger problem than whatever is on today’s agenda.