Some people go through life worrying at every turn that they might offend others.
I don’t.
It’s not my goal to irritate people, of course, but my personality is such that, on occasion, it does happen.
A few weeks ago, I made a mistake and upset a friend.
He was hurt. Really hurt.
I apologized and figured that the relationship would either:
- never be the same
- take a long time to heal
He sent me a note about something else and we began to exchange emails. I brought up the issue of my immediate past transgression.
His response:
Despite the occasional failings, on the whole I still think you are a great guy!
That meant a lot and said a lot about him. He wasn’t going to let one incident outweigh all of the other positive experiences we’ve had.
And I guess that sums up my approach…I will certainly do my best to be a great guy so that, when the inevitable misstep does occur, that’s the reaction you have.
Sure, it doesn’t work for everyone, but it does for me.
