Thursday, September 25, 2008

apologies

A few years ago I was taking a Survey course and kind of got into it with the instructor. I don't remember what it was about, but something he had said set me off and I got an attititude. I don't hide my emotions, at all, so he and everyone in the class knew I was pissed and I didn't care.

Later that week, of course, I felt horrible and embarassed. It was so bad I thought I might not even be able to finish the course, because I was so embarassed by the way I had acted. Even though I may have felt justified in my anger, I knew that my behavior had been completely inappropriate.

So, I called the instructor and apologized. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I knew if I wanted to go back to class the next week without feeling like a complete idiot I was going to have to apologize. Turned out to be one of the best things I ever did. The rest of the semester was great!

I bring all this up, because I'm wondering why some people have such a difficult time making apologies. There have been a couple of times this week that two different people have done things or said things that were just completely inappropriate, but instead of apologizing they just act as though they haven't done anything wrong. Is it possible they don't recognize their bad behavior? Or is it that they can't admit they're wrong?