We've all said it before: "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." "I'm sorry if I made you angry." "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." But what we often don't realize is that these apologies are actually meaningless. We didn't just hurt someone's feelings by accident - we did it on purpose. And by starting our apology with "I'm sorry if," we're indicating that we don't really believe we did anything wrong. If you're genuinely sorry for your actions, then own up to them. Say "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings" or "I'm sorry I made you angry." A sincere apology can go a long way towards repairing a damaged relationship. So the next time you need to say you're sorry, make sure your apology is genuine. Otherwise, you might as well not bother.
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