At some point in our lives, we will or have already done something we might not be proud of. The beauty of how life works is that we are supposed to make mistakes. No one is perfect, and what you thought was the right thing years ago might not be the same as present-day. Have you ever been in a situation where you’re really angry at someone and you probably say some things you don’t mean? Most of us have been there at some point, whether it be middle school or in adulthood. Sometimes it’s hard to let your guard down and tell people you didn’t mean it. It’s hard to admit you were in the wrong sometimes. I have a few ideas to help be the bigger person, and still have your ego intact.

1. Learn to respect people.

If you don’t have any type of respect for people, you’re not going to care about your effects on them. You go around hurting people and making their lives hell, and you probably don’t even realize it. Caring about other people does not mean showing weakness or vulnerability. It can, but I mean the basic respect for someone as a person. But, maybe if that was taken care of, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place…

2. Stop blaming other people.

At the end of the day, whatever happened, happened. You were a part of it. The most irritating thing is when someone does something and says, “Well ____ made me ____ and so..” or “____ wouldn’t let me _____ so it’s not my fault.” Yes. It is your problem. You give people the power to have an influence on you. It’s no one’s fault for what you did or didn’t do. You’re your own person. Act like it.

3. Realize it’s just one point in time.

If you need to apologize, just get it over with. People respect each other a lot more when they can own up to their wrongs. Most of the time it’s the anticipation of the apology conversation that is worse than the actual conversation. Get it over with.

4. Move on from it, with or without people.

Whether you hurt someone or someone hurt you, at the end of the day it’s not relevant to the big picture. If someone hurts you in a big way, forgive them and learn from it. I don’t believe in holding grudges; however, I personally don’t think you should ‘forgive and forget.’ According to my research, people are most likely to repeat their actions if they see that you’ll just keep telling them it’s okay after they hurt you. Learn from these experiences and stand up for yourself.