Elton John sang it so
eloquently. It’s a sad, sad situation, but parents and married couples know
just how absurd it can become. Offering up a good, old-fashioned apology is one
of the most difficult things in all the world.
As a parent, I’ll
admit it: I’ve done the forced apology thing. “Tell your sister you’re sorry.”
Countless parents have said this to countless kids over countless generations.
It’s one of the universal “go to” phrases we believe is guaranteed to help us
all get along. It means, let the other person know you regret what you did and
are willing to take the first step towards making things right again.
Of course, anyone
with children knows that your child’s parentally enforced apology is sometimes
less than heartfelt. They stand there gazing at the floor, mumbling out the
words. And you know they wouldn’t be there at all if you weren’t making them.
Still, we believe
it’s a good thing for them to say so it must be a good thing for us to teach --
even if we do have to oversee it -- even if it lacks conviction. Perhaps, we
hope, the sentiment behind the words will eventually click into place.
This was conventional
wisdom for centuries. One generation passed it down to the next and so on and
so on until we discovered that you could sell a lot of books under the premise
that everything you learned about parenting from your parents was completely
wrong, unhealthy, and psychologically damaging. Now we are convinced that
without any connection between internal remorse and external behavior, well,
words are just words.
And I get it. I do.
Ultimately, I don’t
just want my kids to apologize, I want them to want to apologize. I want them
to understand the impact their behavior has on others -- to know how their
actions have offended someone and to feel some sense of guilt over that.
But I wonder
sometimes: if we wait until all those dots get connected before we expect our
kids to say the words...we might be waiting a very long time.
I’ve seen this
phenomenon at work in marriages, too. Couples experience conflict, and I’ll
ask, “When’s the last time either of you apologized to the other?”
Blank stares. Slow,
deep breaths. Math being done in their heads. Carry the one. Someone gets out a
calendar. When was the last leap year? You don’t have to be an expert to figure
out that apologies are as welcome as a root canal.
It wasn’t always this
way. Most married couples had conversations that involved apologies and
forgiveness. Once upon a time. Over time, though, someone stopped. The practice
ended and the impulse followed.
What if you did for
yourself what you do for your kids? Consider for a moment what might happen if
you told yourself, “Say you’re sorry. Stand up straight. Don’t look at the
floor. Speak up. Say it.”
I think this might
help you have a more ScreamFree Marriage this holiday season.
Of course, our little
ones don’t often want to do this, and I understand why. They’re at the
beginning of their journey into the wide world of relationships. They don’t
fully grasp the value of words. They’re impulsive creatures who lack
self-discipline.
But what’s your
excuse? Even when we know the apology is merited, mustering up the gumption to
utter that terrible phrase is difficult, and the longer we put it off the
harder it is to do.
I can almost hear
your rationalizations and justifications.
“I didn’t do
anything wrong.”
What are you Mother
Teresa? Can we all just admit that we all do at least a little wrong every
single day of our lives? Nothing is ever all one person’s fault. If there’s
conflict in your marriage -- and there is -- you own some of it. Own it.
Even if you think
your spouse should own most of it -- you own some of it. Even if it’s, say, a
60-30 split (with 10% being your kids’ fault) -- you could both say, “It’s not
all my fault.” But you each have something to apologize for.
So own your part --
even if it’s a small part of the big mess -- even if you weren’t the one who
started it -- even if you were just defending yourself -- even if your spouse
knew she was pushing your buttons -- even if you think it’s just one-half of
one percent. Own it.
I know you probably
have a very good reason why you did what you did or said what you said. I know
that. But you also know that there’s something somewhere for which you should
apologize. Do it. It’s good for you. If you wait until you are completely
convinced that the problem is more than 50% your fault, well, when’s the next
leap year?
Here’s a harsh
reality: most people think they’re more innocent than they really are. We
believe we’re easier to get along with than we really are. We are convinced
that we’re the normal one, and, if only everyone else would get in synch with
us, then the world would be a much better place.
But what if you’re wrong?
What if you’re not as pleasant as you think you are? What if the percentage of
the problem that rests on your shoulders is even a tiny bit higher than you
assume it is?
Odds are your spouse
thinks this is the case. Odds are an independent panel of objectives observers
would agree with your spouse. You probably own more of the problem than you
realize. Go ahead and apologize.
“If I apologize,
he’ll think he’s right and I’m wrong.”
Yes. He might. But is
that your goal here? To correctly identify who is more to blame than the other?
No. It’s not. At
least it shouldn’t be. Your goal here is to simply acknowledge the fact that
you own some of this. “I’m sorry I made fun of your hair. That was wrong.” “I
should not have yelled at you like that. I apologize. Please forgive me.”
Note those specifics.
You focus on what you did -- not on what they did to make you do what you did.
If your spouse hears you apologize for what you did and comes to the
conclusion, “Finally! She’s admitting that everything that’s wrong in our
marriage -- heck, in the whole universe -- is all completely her fault!” then,
congratulations, you married an idiot.
Of course, he may do
a little bit of that at first, especially if you have a long history of
escalating conflicts into contests of who’s right and who’s wrong. If you’ve
made everything into a zero-sum game -- where in order for one person to win
the other person must lose -- it may take a while to adjust to the idea that my
apology only covers what I said or did.
Saying, “I’m sorry,”
is not the same as saying, “You were 100% right.”
Over time even an
idiot should be able to figure this out. And, even if that never happens, at
least your apology may short-circuit the escalation of things. There’s a Jewish
proverb that says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” Most people find it
difficult to remain emotionally twisted up when someone expresses authentic
remorse.
An honest and humble
apology alters the dynamics of the situation.
A Final Word
A fundamental
principle of human nature is this: if you want someone to act a certain way
towards you, begin acting that way towards them. If you’d like someone to be
friendly towards you, be friendly towards them. If you want them to compliment
you, compliment them.
If you want to hear
an apology, apologize.
It may not work. But
what you’ve been doing...how’s that been working for you?
As you continue to
apologize appropriately and authentically, you may show your spouse that
apologies are not signs of weakness. The ratio may continue to feel out of
balance, but I bet you’ll feel closer to your spouse than you do now.
There’s something
mysterious about apologizing. There’s something in the very words, and the act
of humility -- imperfect as the intention may be -- required to get them out of
your mouth, that can improve your relationship. An apology -- even a
less-than-completely-heartfelt one -- has the power not only to end an
argument, but to heal and change the person who utters it, however grudgingly.
You don’t have to
feel like doing something in order to do it. Sometimes you have to do the thing
for the feelings to come.
Sorry very well may
be the hardest word. It’s not easy to swallow your pride, to maintain your
integrity, to be honest with the people who are closest to you (they’re the
ones who can hurt you the most). But there’s bad hard and there’s good hard.
There’s the hard stuff that turns you into the person you want to be. Hard
stuff that makes you stronger and creates the kind of relationship you deeply desire.
Sorry definitely
falls into that category.