I’m sorry – The Easy Hard Statement

“I’m sorry”.

What makes it so hard to say these words? They seems so simple, yet we’ve been frighten against saying them since we were kids, say your sorry”, a parent commanded us. May be we have done something to our friend or somebody that is not supposed to be done, we would mutter, I’m sorry as quickly and quietly as possible, as if it the apology was physically painful to say. I labeled I’m sorry an easy hard statement. That oxymoron’ easy hard denotes two things one is that I’m sorry is a common and very easy statement, very easy to sing, very easy to pronounce. Two is that people find it difficult to say I’m sorry when they’ve offended other people.

I’m sorry is very easy to pronounce yet difficult to say.

I’m sorry had done much mighty destruction. It has terminated many marriage engagements, it has eluded many of our jobs opportunity it has sent many to their grave, it had made many parents to disown their children and many children to disown their parents, I’m sorry had put asunder separating many couples after wedding. Our human nature cringes to admit guilt, we have to be wrong, but worse yet, we have to confess to having wronged others.

A mistake is inevitable, it sometimes occurs no matter how careful one may be. But the way we tender our apology shows whether were deliberately or unintentionally did what we did. For instance, a leader may make a mistake, perhaps a misjudgment of where to allocate finance may be a bad decision related to hiring or firing employees, shareholders, partners, and the community. Regardless of the size and the scope of the mistake, the leader must learn how to apologize. The universal need to apologize is to show what you are really sorry for what you did, to make those affected to see what happened as a mistake you did, to make those affected to see what happened as a mistake and not as a planned intend to mesmerize their lives.

By Jamila Abdullahi

University of Maiduguri

Mass Communication Department

300 Levels