Near the beginning of the Fall 2018 semester, I scrolled upon something on social media about saying "Thank you" instead of "I'm sorry." It came with a puppy picture, so naturally, I stopped to read on.

This certain individual talked about how they had made a conscious effort to eliminate apologies as their go-to response to an unfortunate situation. They argued that the "I'm sorry" is implied in most situations and that one should try to actively say "Thank you" and show more gratitude in their daily life.

The example given was when a person is late. Instead of saying, "I'm sorry I was late," switch it to "Thank you for waiting for me." In doing this, the author stated, you're recognizing the other person's positive contribution to the situation and showing your thanks rather than emphasizing your negative contribution with no nod to the other person.

This concept struck me. I'm late quite often. It's an incredibly unfortunate part of my personality, so I've spent many of my first interactions apologizing profusely for the inconvenience. Most people accept the apology, and we both move on with our lives.

What would happen if I switched? I'm obviously grateful toward this person I've kept waiting. I'm not a jerk, okay?

So I tried it out. I eliminated "I'm sorry I'm late" from my vocabulary and replaced it with "Thank you for waiting."

I noticed a positive difference almost right away. While people weren't outwardly angry before when I apologized, the way my friends, family, and others smiled and said "You're welcome," or "Oh, it's no trouble," in response was more cheerful and easy-going than I'd received before.

After this test, I decided to examine this further. I thought, "Marisa, there may be something to this whole 'Thank you' business." I began saying thank you basically any time I felt like I needed to apologize. After muddling through this for about two weeks, I came to three conclusions.

One: I apologize too damn much. If I'm not sorry for being late, I'm sorry for being in the way, or I'm sorry for talking too much, or I'm sorry for breathing.

Okay, so the last one is a bit of an exaggeration. However, I unnecessarily apologize for so many of my activities that might mildly inconvenience another person. I didn't realize how exhausting it was until doing this little experiment.

What's not exhausting, however, is thanking people. Before, I'd apologize for the slightest bit of awkwardness. Now, I reason that if it doesn't make sense to thank the person, I shouldn't say anything. This cuts out tons of needless apologizing.

Two: People deserved to be thanked. I've interacted with my fair share of nice humans. These are people who hold the door open for others just because and people who say "Don't worry about it," when you're a couple cents short on your large latte.

These people deserve endless hugs and puppies, and the least I can do is say "Thank you, you kind human," instead of focusing on me and my mistakes.

Which brings me to three: Sometimes, it's not even my fault, so why am I apologizing? I'm not out here saying that my being late isn't my fault. It totes ma goats is, and I'll be woman enough to admit this.

This is what I mean: I'm a food service worker, where my go-to is to apologize first and ask questions later, which is generally a quick way to get through my shift without ruffling too many feathers.

However, when I'm the only worker on the clock, we're out of chocolate sauce, and I have five drinks to make, I shouldn't have to apologize that you have to wait. I'm sprinting around this shop like a chicken hopped up on coffee, and I can only make drinks as fast as the espresso machine can pull shots.

I shouldn't apologize that I'm busting my ass to make your drink. I will, however, thank you for waiting for the above process to happen.

Ever since these revelations, per se, I've not only noticed how much I apologize on the reg, I've actively tried to ask myself two questions in the wake of an apology: One, do I actually need to say "I'm sorry" in this situation? and two, can I say "Thank you," instead?

Overall, it's taught me to be a more grateful and attentive individual. I'm more aware of how I present myself to a person when these types of situations arise.

However, I'm also more aware of what is and is "my fault" in my daily life. I'm more responsible for my actions, but I'm also more assertive rather than apologetic when the actions are out of my control.

Moral of the story: Apologize less, thank more. You, and the people around you will be more grateful for the shift, guaranteed.