Try to see it my way,
Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on?
While you see it your way,
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

~ "We Can Work It Out" -- The Beatles

What is a compromise? It is a concession, when both sides agree to meet in the middle, and both parties are satisfied with the result. A compromise involves effort and some degree of sacrifice from both sides.

Think of what you're saying.
You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right.
Think of what I'm saying,
We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

Why is it then that when people suggest making a compromise, what they are really implying is that the other person should be the one to compromise? When has compromise become something the other side should do? Is it not supposed to involve both parties giving something up in order to agree on the middle road, to get a fair result? Why then does 'working it out' mean that you expect the other person to 'think of what you're saying' and see the situation from your point of view, while having to abandon his/her own? Why is it that you expect the other person to give up his/her own opinion in favor of yours, while you do not even consider looking at the matter from his/her position?

Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend.
I have always thought that it's a crime,
So I will ask you once again.
Try to see it my way,
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

How are you working it out if you are depriving the other person of a personal opinion or a fair chance? How is it compromise if you are not willing to give anything up yourself? You are telling the other person, "while you see it your way, there's a chance that we might fall apart before too long," but what about you? Have you ever considered how that applies to you too? That while you only see it your way and ask your partner to constantly compromise, you are the only ruining the friendship, relationship, marriage?

A compromise goes both ways, and the best way to compromise is by starting with yourself -- by showing that you are willing to give something up in order to make the other person happy, and then perhaps that will encourage the other person to give something up too, so that both of you can come to a fair, mutually satisfying conclusion. You must take that first step; you cannot demand it of the other person and then refuse to budge an inch yourself. Both parties must be involved in the agreement, and both must accept the conditions and give up certain things.

That is compromising.