The word "Sorry"

Why do we apologize when we are in the wrong?

I have noticed that the word "sorry" seems to be always at the tip of my tongue which, like an eraser, can absolve me of any wrongdoing. Its almost as if saying that I am "sorry" gives me a get out of jail card that absolves me of any wrongdoing especially without the need for remorse.

It seems to me that if one were truly repentant the best medicine would be to ruminate about what really went wrong (was my action prompted by me putting my own selfish needs before the others?) and act on the insight by resolving to never commit the mistake again. All this could and should be done without a single word being said.

Yet, we feel compelled to say the word "sorry" and then forget all about it.

It is worth thinking about.

Small-wins strategy

"Small-wins strategy is used to describe Gary Loveman's encouragement of efforts aimed at rapidly identifying and implementing a host of small steps to reduce services and amenities in ways that do not alienate customers. 


As University of Michigan professor Karl Weick has shown, when people frame problems as enormous and insurmountable challenges, this drives up their anxiety and causes them to feel helpless: the problem seems so big that there is nothing they can do to make progress. They therefore freak out and freeze in their tracks. Breaking down a problem into bite-sized pieces (what Weick calls small wins) calms people and helps them take constructive action. This strategy is especially useful during tough times, as it both dampens fears and gives people a much-needed feeling of control — and enables them to make collective progress in the right direction."