Tiger Woods’ press announcement brings to mind questions about apologizing and forgiveness.
- What makes a good apology?
When we can own our role in the situation and acknowledge how we hurt or impacted the other person and sincerely say, “I’m sorry.”
- How do we forgive?
Forgiveness is something we do for ourselves, not just for the other person. We often hold on to the emotional charge long after the incident.
We feel that by letting it go we will let the other (or ourselves) off the hook. Frequently we not want to give up our righteousness. Figure out what you are holding on to and how it is serving you and the situation.
Holding on to the anger can be toxic. We keep reliving the anger, pain or _________. It is harder to move forward. (I said move forward, not forget.)
- “What do I ultimately want?”
- “How can I get that?”
- “What part of this is within my control?”
- “How is my attitude and self- talk impacting the outcome?”
- “What would serve me best right now?”
Mistakes, poor choices, bad decisions and transgressions are part of life. Learning to apologize and forgive others and ourselves can bring peace of mind. Unlike Tiger, we do not need to engage the press to move forward.