Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Complete Apology

There was a time, back during my childhood days in the sixties, when saying sorry included a statement of what the repentant person would strive to do in the future to avoid committing the same offense. This practice not only ensured the level of sincerity and remorse on the part of the person saying sorry, it also ensured that both sides were on the same page with regards to the nature of the offense that an apology was being offered for.

Somewhere along the way, we as a people lost that virtue and now dish out apologies in a manner that sometimes can be likened to quickly throwing out some candy to an offended child to quickly appease their hurt. We then go about repeating the offense due to a lack of earnest commitment to do better. I am just as culpable on this one as anybody else.

Perhaps the time is long due to go back to yesterday’s practice of rendering sincere and earnest requests for forgiveness to those we have hurt or offended. I will commit to striving to do this beginning today. I hope that you will see the virtue in making the same conscious commitment in your life (even if others do not follow suit).

Here are the steps to a complete apology in a nutshell:
1. Be clear and specific in your description of what you are sorry for
2. State the specific steps that you will be taking moving forward to minimize the future occurrence of the mistake


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