Miche – I agree with what you said, doing a sincere apology can be liberating for BOTH parties. In fact, both usually become closer because of it. Thanks for commenting and reading! I may have to do that followup on forgiveness like you say.

Abbijoice – You make a great point. Even though people do not intend to hurt people, sometimes they do, and in that case and apology is most definitely needed. Thanks for pointing that out!

A great in-depth post here. And timely too, given what happened at the VMA’s

It amazes me how many people have forgotten the art of apologizing, and give it a half-hearted effort at best. It’s true, if it’s not sincere the receiver will probably end up more hurt or angry. Sincere apologies are very liberating, for both parties.

The best part of your post is the outline of benefits to the giver of the apology. Many don’t realize that there’s a lot to be gained by giving a real apology, that it doesn’t only benefit the receiver. A sincere apology shines the light on the path to true forgiveness, which is also liberating. Hmmm, that gives me a new post idea! It would be great too to see a follow-up post here on TheHappySelf on forgiveness.

At any rate, this post is definitely an inspiring resource for people and I’ve saved it to refer people to in the future.

Cheers,
Miche
Miche | Serenity Hacker´s last blog ..25 iPhone Apps for Personal Growth

Dani – You are right, it is never easy to apologize, but I think once we get past our ego, things get much easier. Thanks for commenting!

Justin – I guess sometimes you have to use your best judgment as to what will work best for a situation. It looks like you did just that to not break up the team. Thanks for sharing!

Robin – Excellent addition to what was posted. If there is not solid follow-through, then it will render the apology meaningless. Great point! Thanks for your awesome comment!

Diggy – Thank you for the compliment and I’m glad you like the posts Diggy! As you say, there is a huge difference in a heartfelt apology vs. the one’s that obviously don’t mean it. Great point!

I love your posts man! You always come up with such interesting topics and ideas!

The sincere apology is indeed hard to do. I have trouble with apologising immediately sometimes, and it is something I work on. It usually takes me a while to make the apology.

So many people seem to say ‘Im sorry’, when they are not really. This is the kind of apology that means nothing and mostly makes matters worse.

Thanks for sharing!
Keep well
Diggy
Diggy – Upgradereality.com´s last blog ..Self-Improvement is (not) for losers!

Sorry is such a hard word for many of us. Thanks for this important post.

I would add…

THE 4TH COMPONENT: FOLLOW-THROUGH

Where relevant, it can be very powerful to add what actions or behavior you are going to commit to to make sure the cause/problem is fixed e.g. “..and I commit to immediately fixing the situation so it never happens again” etc.

Best to you, Robin
Robin Dickinson´s last blog ..Moving ovation for a hero: Jobs thanks his life-giver

I wouldn’t know how to give a sincere apology when I don’t know my offense or do not believe that I’ve done wrong.
Justin-AlittleBetter.net´s last blog ..13 Profound Statements Via Twitter