I've been on both sides too, I'm not trying to make out that I'm some kind of saint. Sometimes I poke and prod a bit too much.
I suppose all I'm suggesting is that having an awareness and some self-evaluation in a situation can help to keep the ego in check (if not in that instance, then maybe in the next) - it's a constant process.
One of the main things I've learned is about the pitfalls of habitual reactivity, and that it's possible to elongate the period of time between stimulus and response.
'Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom' - Viktor E. Frankl