“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou, American Poet and Civil Rights Activist
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Ken Blanchard.
“Time and again, I’ve noticed that many of us have a lot of trouble apologizing. I’ve observed this in myself, as well. One reason it’s hard to take responsibility for our bad behavior is because doing wrong is inconsistent with our view of ourselves as ethical people. As a result, many of us avoid apologies like the plague.
What I’ve realized is that difficulties apologizing are tied to pride and ego. When we sincerely apologize, we are taking our egos out of the equation and being honest. We are practicing integrity when we apologize because we are acknowledging that what we did or failed to do is inconsistent with who we want to be.
I try to practice One Minute Apologies whenever I feel I’ve done wrong by someone. In a One Minute Apology, you:
- Admit your mistake and apologize.
- Take full responsibility for any harm you did.
- Make amends by committing to change your behavior.
One of the greatest advantages of apologizing is that it gives you an opportunity for completion of that relationship. When you’ve done something wrong and haven’t dealt with it, it hangs over you and drains your energy. When you deal with it, you get closure.”
The Life Lesson: Apologize – doing so will make you (and the other party) fell better.