Growth is saying sorry first, even when you’re only half wrong.

Apologizing first feels like conceding the whole argument, which is why people wait, and why standoffs run for weeks over something small. Going first is not an admission that you were entirely wrong. It is taking responsibility for your share and refusing to let the silence keep growing. Whoever moves first usually cares more about the relationship than the scoreline.

Apologize this week for your actual part, specifically, with no but attached. Then stop talking and let them answer however they answer. Most standoffs end within a minute of somebody deciding to go first.