Here's Why You Apologize to Strangers For Nothing

Do you say I'm sorry so often you don't even realize it? Every woman does.

Someone bumps into you on the street, you respond "oops sorry!"

A man cuts you off in line at Target and you make eye contact, you respond "oh sorry". 

Nope, no longer. *loud buzzing sound*

According to an article on Psych Central : feeling sorry (or experiencing guilt) motivates a person to work to repair relationships that he or she may have damaged in some way.

Sure, yes, OK. You spilled red wine on someone's white rug. Say your sorry. You forgot to feed your friend's cat? Yes, apologize.

But these are legitimate reasons to say I'm sorry. And these are relationship based. 

Somehow over time women have internalized every awkward encounter with a stranger as a relationship that's been damaged. Think about this for a second. It has been ingrained in us that we are responsible for other's perceived upset or inconvenience. So much so that we are apologizing when someone else is not capable of waiting their turn in line or sharing the sidewalk. 

And can you blame women for overly internalizing in a world where public male leaders and entertainment industry CEOs have a VERY hard time apologizing for MAJOR missteps such as gassing children at the border and raping Hollywood actresses? 

Subconsciously we are making up for the HUGE lack of empathy from the men that have been running our corporations, industries, and our government! 

Only until we stop apologizing in daily encounters for situations that require no damage repair, can we finally shift the paradigm. I find that when I'm assertive, without being rude, people respond BETTER. 

When we stop apologizing for everything the world will respond better.