Why It's Time to Stop Saying Sorry All the Time

As Career and Personal Development Chair of my Chi Omega Chapter at UCLA, I like to give a little career advice every now and then. As an intern at Disney ABC Television Group for the past two and a half months, I’ve learned some tips and tricks that I think can significantly affect happiness in the workplace. One happiness hang-up you may have experienced in the office? Making a mistake. It happens to all of us, yet there’s no reason for it to take away our happiness for a prolonged period of time. Here’s how to move on and make it better.Chances are, if you’re a girl, you probably utter, “I’m sorry” on a regular basis, even when there’s nothing to be sorry for. Sure, there’s a time and a place to be apologetic but saying sorry at the drop of a hat loses its oomph. Furthermore, if you do make a mistake and an apology is warranted, there’s one crucial thing I’ve learned from the work environment—don’t make excuses, just get it done.You may think that excuses will save you time or face, but truly, it’s just better to own up to it and fix the problem as soon as possible. Unless you feel like there is a genuine misunderstanding, then don’t waste more time by making your boss hear out the minutia of your mistake. All they’ll want to hear at that point is, “I’m on it” and “All fixed!” Focusing on your error instead of the solution will only hold you back. Move ahead and make up for a mistake instead of making excuses.It can be easy to fester in your slip-ups but you’ve got to get a move on. While you should always allow yourself time to learn from errors so that they don’t happen in the future, you can’t let an accidental fault loom over your head forever. Employers like an upbeat, confident (yet not cocky) employee who is ready to learn. They should be understanding when you make minor flubs every now and then as you learn (in fact, they often expect it!) and if anything, you’ll leave them actually feeling impressed when you can take an error and improve the situation tenfold.So rather than wasting words on why you made a mistake, get to work on what didn’t work the first time. Fix the problem instead of trying to explain yourself. You’ll feel much happier when you can move on and enjoy your day! Make the most of it.Keep shining,The Sunny Girl, Lauren CookPlease follow me on Twitter by clicking here!