I say "sorry" far too often. It is my immediate response whenever I do something that someone isn't 100% satisfied with. And because I overuse "sorry" so much, I think it is losing its meaning.
To me, the word "sorry" should only come in an apology. And apology is - a written or spoken expression of one's regret, remorse, or sorrow for having insulted, failed, injured, or wronged another. Instead, I throw it around for the most trivial of reasons, so when the time comes when I actually need to apologize, the act of apologizing is too easy. It isn't something that weighs on me.
So, instead of saying "sorry" all the time, I think that I'll say "thank you" instead.
That way "I'm sorry I kept you up all night because I couldn't sleep" becomes "Thank you for staying up and talking with me last night, that meant a lot."
Or "Sorry I didn't do as well as I could have in X" becomes "Thank you for taking the time to correct me and help me learn/grow."
That way, the focus is on the other person rather than on yourself. You are thanking them for their action, rather than defending your own.
I know in Church, I have heard messages on being Other-centric, and while a lot of times the message is delivered in trite little cliches, there is still a powerful underlying truth to it.
That's just something I thought about last night.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment