Want to stop people shitting all over you?

Then the first thing is to stop them climbing over your head.
This was the train of thought in a conversation I had recently on how to deal with bullies.
Bullies come in many forms. Not necessarily the type who push you around or say bad things at you when you were young. They could be in the form of friends colleagues or even relations. One thing about bullies is that they will keep exerting pressure till you snap. The more you yield the more pressure they will exert.
Sadly many of us don't realize this. We allow the bully to exert more and more pressure on us hoping they will stop at a certain point. But they never do and they never will. Then when finally the damn bursts the collateral damage is quite bad. Relationships are shattered as egos are hurt and sometimes the pieces will never be able to be put back together once more.
However their is an alternative to avoiding extensive collateral damage. That is to resist right at the beginning when you realize someone is bullying you. By nipping things in the bud you can turn your bullies into faithful allies. It has happened to me.
The more I think about it the analogy of not allowing people to climb on top of your head makes sense in this kind of situation.
Because when they are on top of your head and you push them off then the fall to the ground and the consequences are far more damaging. It is far more easier and far less damaging to brush them off when they are clamoring around your ankles.