I dream of creating an app and was tickled when I recently came across the “Just Not Sorry” one. It is free and underlines any words which undermine an email so that people send more effective messages without using the “Sorry” word when an apology isn’t called for.
This app is especially meaningful to me because women (and I often witness this phenomenon at Maze Women’s Sexual Health) are more apt to say we are very sorry for everything. We apologize for things from expressing our opinions to smacking into a lamppost! I think women tend to qualify their wants with “I am sorry to ask …” or “I might sound dumb for thinking this…” which tends to minimize another person’s confidence in our ideas and hinders us from getting ahead. Maybe this “Just Not Sorry ” app will instill courage and self assurance, or maybe it will finally explain away the line from Eric Segal’s book, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry!”