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The Right Way to Restore a Relationship (lessons from 15 years of burning bridges)
I’ve burned a lot of bridges.
Over the last 15 years, I’ve burned a lot of bridges.
I’ve done a lot of hurtful things, said hurtful stuff, and was a complete asshole to many people I loved, who loved me back and deserved better. I have to live with that for the rest of my life.
At times, I still marvel at how stupid I was. How conceited and profoundly self-absorbed I was. And how I didn’t even see it.
But in the process, I’ve learned how to restore those relationships (some of them, at least. Some people still won’t talk to me).
That’s what this post is about: how to restore broken relationships that were broken by you.
Because whether I like it or not, I have major experience with that.
It’s Your Fault. Shut Up and Admit It.
“The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” -Harriet Beecher Stowe
When my wife and I were in premarital counseling, our counselor gave us a piece of advice that would end up changing our lives:
Always make the first move.
