How to Adult: Apologizing

Making mistakes is a part of life, and along the way you may hurt the people you love the most.

Through these mistakes you will learn, and you will need to know how to make an apology that is genuine and can be accepted by both you and the person you are trying to apologize to. Apologizing isn’t easy so here are a few tips on how to make it right.

Knowing when to apologize is key, and you may need to wait until the other person is ready to hear you out and understand your view. If you find yourself in an argument or situation where you feel like an apology is granted from your side, then do so.

If the person you hurt needs time, give it to them; an apology will be more sincere if you recognize their feelings and need to process the prior events. 

When you find the right time to apologize reflect on the past events and reflect on your mistakes and what you did wrong. Knowing what your mistakes are will help you apologize correctly and help you from repeating the same mistakes in the future.

When you go to apologize, ask the person if you can meet them in person or schedule a phone call. Making the effort to apologize in person or over the phone will mean a lot to the person you are trying to apologize to.

No matter how you apologize, do not do it in a text, this in insincere and will only hurt the person more. Apologizing in a text will not feel genuine and emotions will be difficult to read and even missed.

Apologizing needs to be sincere, so take your time to gather your thoughts, reflect and find the right way to approach the situation. You only get one shot so make it right and genuine, show that you made a mistake and show that you plan to be better.