No one LIKES apologizing, but we all have to do it.  And when you don't WANT to apologize, that's usually when you mess it up.  Here are three things you can do to ruin a good apology.

#1.)  You Apologize, Then Get Angry When Someone's Still Upset.  It's important to remember that apologizing doesn't usually FIX what happened.  And even if it's nothing major, the other person might need a minute to process it.  So even if you apologize immediately, you should still expect to deal with some blowback.

#2.)  You Apologize, Then Keep Arguing Your Point.  This kind of goes with the last one.  But it's different, because it usually means you're not THAT sorry.  In general, if you apologize and follow it with the word "but," it's not a REAL apology.  You're just saying you're sorry because it might help you win the argument.

#3.)  You Say "Sorry" Too Many Times.  Apologizing two or three times is fine.  But the more you say it, the more and more meaningless it sounds.  It can actually make the OTHER person feel guilty, even though they didn't do anything wrong.  Plus, when you apologize over and over again, you're really just trying to make YOURSELF feel better.

(Cracked)