We've all had our moments. Moments we aren't proud of, moments that didn't go as planned, and moments that we regret handling the way we did.
And hopefully we've also had to learn how to be mature when we handle these cases... Or at least we should have.
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So often in this generation, and honestly other generations are guilty of this too, we forget the true definition of the word "sorry."
According to Webster's dictionary, the word "sorry" means "feeling sorrow, regret, or penitence."
Think about the last time you told someone you were sorry. Did you really regret doing what you did, or were you just trying to smooth things over because you realized what you did upset that person? Were you really seeking penitence, or just seeking relief from the guilt about what you did? If you went back in time, would you still do what you did for your benefit even if it was at someone else's detriment? Were you really sorry for staying out past curfew, or were you just sorry your parents were upset? We pass "sorry" around more than we pass food around the table at a family meal during the holidays.
We use "sorry" so freely that honestly in today's world it seems to have lost its credibility.
And even if you really did mean it, sorry by itself does nothing. You have to really understand that you did something wrong that upset another person. You have to feel guilty about what you did, and you have to fix whatever it is you did wrong. If you say you're sorry and "promise it'll never happen again," see to it that it doesn't happen again.
Nowadays, people are so quick to pass the blame off onto other people. They don't understand, or just don't want to admit, they messed up because they see it as showing weakness. I hate to break it to y'all, and I'm sorry Beyoncé, but no one on the face of this earth is flawless. And that's OK.
Own up to your mistakes. It's OK to admit you were wrong, because, and I'm throwing it back to the Hannah Montana days when I say this, everyone makes mistakes and nobody's perfect. We all have our downfalls, and we all need to acknowledge them. It's because of that we can forgive each other and move forward. Understanding that you yourself are not a perfect person is a crucial part of forgiving others and it's just as important for the person receiving the apology to realize that as it is for the person apologizing.
But you also have to realize that some people take more time to heal than others, and that's OK, too. Some people take things more personally than you realize. You can't just apologize and instantly expect that person to move on so quickly. Give them their space. They'll come to you when they're ready. And, I beg you, don't ever say to someone, "can we just drop it and forget it happened?" because that's denying there was ever an issue to begin with and you're minimizing that person's feelings when you say that.
So the next time you upset someone, take some time to think about what you did and how you're going to fix it before you start throwing the "s" word around.
