I’ll give it a shot, “I thought I apologized already, but whatever…”
I find myself saying this one a lot. When I feel like I’m putting in effort and the other person won’t meet me in the middle something like this always seems to slip out, but I hate how passive aggressive it is.
Reframing it so ‘the problem’ is the problem rather than the person is a good idea. Helps with communication, and if it can be internalized, it seems like a better way to think about the conflict too.
An excellent observation! Isn’t it funny how the hardest apologies are the ones where you don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong? Indeed, more often than not, it’s easier to choke down a slice of humble pie before trying to come clean. Then again… sometimes the only available option is to cook up a disingenuous apology and lie that sucker out through your teeth – both costs are valid forms of payment in the world of apologies. Whichever currency you spend, the most important part is not wasting it!
