Saturday, July 20, 2013

The power of "I'm sorry"

I wish I could say how great my day went and how much I had it all together, after all it was fabulous Friday. The truth is the "only child" in me came out with a vengeance.

I went to my husband's job site to take him breakfast and lunch. The plan was to do a quick drop and then on to my list of errands to run. My husband had different plans. He needed to pick up a few supplies and wanted me to take him. What? This meant I had to get off of my pre-planned schedule. I was not a happy camper. Flexibility is not my strong point.

Needless to say, I expressed my inability to be flexible. I did take him to get the supplies, but it was not such a pleasant ride nor was it a pleasant goodbye. Throughout the day I thought about my attitude and how I could have handled the situation much better. While my husband comes from a family of ten, as an only I child I still have to fight selfishness on a regular basis.

The first thing I knew I had to do was say "I'm sorry" as soon as he came in and I did. I told him I was sorry about how I acted. I told him I was wrong and asked him to forgive me. I promised him I  would continue to work on being more flexible. An apology to him was warranted and he accepted it.

Life has taught and is teaching me that saying "I'm sorry" is a powerful act. It takes humility to say these words and mean it. Often times when we make mistakes it's easy to just sweep things under the rug and hope for resolve by being nice again. Saying "I'm sorry" is powerful because it acknowledges a wrong and takes responsibility for it. Next it shows you care about the person and their feelings. 

While most of us don't intend to offend, it happens more often than not, that's life. We can begin to make amends by a simple yet powerful "I'm sorry" it makes all the difference in the world to the hearer. Saying it not only helps the person it's said to but it also helps the one saying it when said in sincerity.  "I'm sorry" can break down barriers and bring back smiles.

When was the last time you said I'm sorry?


everyday talk for everyday women...

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