Sorry not sorry

There is nothing wrong with saying sorry when you have done something wrong. But over-apologising for things that are not within your control can have real impact on your confidence - both in terms of how you feel and how others perceive you.

"Sorry" for lots of us is a filler phrase that pops up where it doesn't belong: "sorry, do you have a minute?" / "sorry, I'm not free then"/ "sorry you bumped into me" ... The list is endless. Doing this all day sends a message that you lack confidence and are ineffectual. And lessens the impact of real apologies.

Here's 3 tips to end over-apologising:

Be self-aware
Tally how many times you apologise in a day and for what reasons

Flip the script
Try replacing sorry with thank you: "I'm going to be late - the traffic is a nightmare. Thank you for your patience"

Know what you should/shouldn't apologise for
If you couldn’t control the situation or it was a trivial (and honest) mistake, there’s no need to apologise.
if you were at fault in some way go for it and say a proper honest sorry.