Mindful Gardener

That 5 letter word seems to slip out of your mouth far too often. But why? Are you sorry for what they did to you? Said to you? Or better yet, what they didn't say to you? Here are the top 5 reasons as to why that word slipping between your lips can hurt you more than help you:

1) The situation never truly gets handled. You may say "I'm sorry for my feelings..." But should you really be sorry for them? Of course not, unless you're overreacting.

2) Saying SORRY when it is the other person's fault allows for them to feel entitled. They may truly believe that you are in the wrong and think that in no way they are doing something you do not appreciate.

3) Even when you apologize, it only keeps the peace temporarily because you were not the one at fault. What you let slide by, will worsen later. That being said, the other person does not learn their lesson.

4) You end up blaming yourself and feeling like things are your fault when in fact they may not be. That can be self-harming. Your mindset about yourself should be positive and if you are always apologizing for somebody else's actions, your mindset will change accordingly.

5) Being repetitive in apologizing can cause a person to come off as less capable than the other.

In all, apologizing for the things you have not done wrong are harmful to yourself and to those around you. Always apologize when you have done wrong and when you haven't done wrong, try to explain why you are upset or hurt rather than just apologizing and not really fixing the problem.