Tuesday, July 13, 2010

On the whole, you’re a great guy…

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:

  1. never be the same
  2. 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.

 
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