Putting on my big girl panties

I've heard and used this line a few times and this weekend had to put 'em on and pull 'em up.  When do you have to do this?  How many people like confrontation?  Personally I don't, but sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe in and try to do it without causing offense.  

This weekend I got into a conversation that I certainly didn't mean to turn heated but it did.  I stood my ground, but in so doing made some of the other people in the meeting uncomfortable.  As hard as it was to speak my mind and work through the issue, it was even harder to approach the person after the meeting to "unseat" the issue.  I could have let someone else try to smooth it over; but this was my issue and so I dealt with it.  

Sometimes we don't feel like doing something and we need to anyway and we get up and get going, for me - my big girl panties are when I have to deal with others following a debate or confrontation and muddle through.  A time when I could let someone else deal with a mess for me but don't.

When have you put on your big girl panties?