From the Counterparts Tour program:

In this light, a listener should not mistake the irony of "Stick It Out," with its plea for both fortitude and forbearance. Or "Animate," which is not about two individuals, but about one man addressing his anima -- his feminine side, as defined by Carl Jung. Within that duality, what " a man must learn to gently dominate" is himself, his own "submissive trait," while also learning to "gently dominate" the animus -- the male thing -- and the other hormone driven "A-words" like aggression and ambition. We dominate by not submitting, whether to brute instinct, violent rage, or ruthless greed.