In other words, stand by your position, but also learn when to admit you were wrong.
It's a fundamental tenet of my way of life. I promptly admit when I'm wrong.
I've found the best way to avoid having to make amends, is to not cause the offense, in the first place. I tend to be fairly careful about keeping it in the "I," all the time (but no good deed goes unpunished -I am often told that "I'm making it all about me").
I do find that I get attacked, sometimes, right out of the blue, for stating personal philosophies and/or experiences. My fave is when I am told that something that happened to me "didn't actually happen." I assume that is because it is an inconvenient truth, for others. My experience, dealing with tech industry ageism, is a common fulcrum for that kind of response.
Sometimes, though, I absolutely -do- intend to offend somebody, and in that case I own it.
That's the thing, there are a lot more positions these days that people seem to be unwilling to change.