I’m Canadian
and the ‘joke’ is
we apologize for everything.
Many Americans view this
as a bad thing,
as a weakness.
It is actually a strength.
An apology isn’t
necessarily an admission of guilt.
It is a recognition
that the other person is upset
or inconvenienced.
And offering one immediately diffuses
the situation.
It sucks many
of the extreme emotions
out of the confrontation.
Which allows both parties
to think more rationally.
They are more likely
to apply logic
to arrive at a situation
everyone is satisfied with reaching.
“The need to win
every interaction,
the inability to apologize,
the short-term
over the long-term
–this isn’t a sign of strength,
it’s a symptom of immaturity
and weakness
that almost always
leads to suboptimal results.”
Apologizing is an effective strategy.
Consider using it.