Apologizing is Growth

“I was wrong.”

“I made a mistake.”

Just typing these words makes my heart race a bit faster. It’s never easy to admit I’m wrong.

I find that fear is the most common reason that wants to keep me from admitting when I’m wrong.

This is often because of all the scenarios I’m playing in my mind about the price I will be paying if admitting.

The main scenario for me is:

“I’m going to lose my credibility.”

This scenario used to keep me from admitting and helped me come up with some really good excuses. Credible excuses that even I would believe…

The truth?

I was losing significantly more credibility when I was not admitting.

I decided that I want to change this.

I sat and questioned the truth behind my fear of admitting.

The result? The fear was not true. Fear is rarely true.

I started practicing admitting.

I started apologizing.

I started openly righting my wrongs.

And then I repeated it. Again and again…

In the process, I found that when I admit I am wrong,

I become stronger,

I’m open to learning from my mistakes,

I don’t have a reason to hide,

and my relationships grow stronger.

I experienced that when I admit I was wrong I receive:

grace,

respect, and,

trust.

At the same time, I find that I make fewer mistakes.

When I admit and give myself grace, I usually operate with a growth mindset and I focus on doing better in the future.

At the same time, I really, really, really want to avoid getting myself in a situation where I have to admit I was wrong. 😉

It’s not always easy, but the more I do it, the easier it becomes.

Now I prefer to face the consequence instead of living with that fear.

For me, the peace, growth, and liberation that come from admitting I was wrong, make the price of vulnerability 100% worth paying.

What’s your relationship with admitting when you’re wrong?

If it can be better, what’s one thing you can start doing today to improve it?