Oh little flock, fear not the foe
https://hymnary.org/text/fear_not_o_little_flock_the_foe
O little flock, fear not the foe
Who madly seeks your overthrow;
Dread not his rage and pow'r.
And though your courage sometimes faints,
His seeming triumph o'er God's saints
Lasts but a little hour
Great old hymn. Vague in my memory...
I think my State Farm story demonstrates that I stood against huge odds and prevailed. Indeed - that is a small part of the saga; SF violated every aspect of our contract such that I never got one penny out of them without fighting for my due - it came to five law suits. In every case it ended up costing them more than if they had honored our contract.
So, yes: one gets frustrated and tired, thinks about just letting the strife fade away; but I just couldn't do that - and they were determined to make it as onerous as possible.
I have been a competent negotiator - not just State Farm. Never deal in anger ... fear maybe sometimes, just human nature. If you opponent senses anger they will try to exploit it. Having fear at times is not so easy to detect; just keep a poker face. 👌😌
Thanks for the inspiration; very comforting.