Words You Regret—You can’t unsay what you said—but you can stop saying it. Begin with: ‘I’m sorry. I feel bad about it. I’ll strive to do better!’
Words You Regret: How to Own It, Fix It, and Move Forward
We’ve all been there. Mouth opens, words fly, and suddenly you’re staring at a mess you can’t mop up.
The quote—“Words You Regret—You can’t unsay what you said—but you can stop saying it. Begin with: ‘I’m sorry. I feel bad about it. I’ll strive to do better!’”—hits like a slap and a hug at the same time.
Let’s break it down, chew it over, and figure out how to climb out of the verbal dumpster fire we’ve all lit at some point.
Words You Regret—You can’t unsay what you said
Truth stings, doesn’t it? Once those syllables hit the air, they’re gone—wild, free, and usually landing like a brick on someone’s feelings. Take Jim. At a party, he blurts to Laura, “You’re too loud for your own good.”
He meant it as a joke, but her face crumpled like a paper bag. No rewind button. No magic eraser. Jim’s stuck with the echo of his own dumb mouth. We’ve all got a Jim moment—words we’d pay good money to yank back.
But the universe doesn’t do refunds.
But you can stop saying it
Here’s the pivot, the lifeline. You don’t have to double down like some stubborn mule. Laura could’ve spent the night dodging Jim, but he didn’t keep digging. He didn’t follow up with, “Yeah, and your laugh’s like a hyena.” He shut it. Stopped the bleed.
Too many of us treat arguments like a cage match—gotta land one more punch. Newsflash: silence isn’t surrender. It’s power. It’s saying, “I’m done being an idiot.”
Try it next time your tongue’s itching to reload.
Begin with: ‘I’m sorry. I feel bad about it. I’ll strive to do better!’
This is the gutsy part—owning it. Three little sentences that feel like lifting a car off your chest. Someone wrote: I once snapped at my sister, Karen, over something dumb—her leaving dishes in the sink. Called her a slob. Her eyes went glassy, and I felt like a jerk. So I manned up: “I’m sorry. I feel rotten. I’ll chill out next time.”
Did it fix the dishes? Nope. Did it fix us? You bet. Apologies aren’t magic wands, but they’re pretty close. They’re you saying, “I’m human, not a monster.” And that “strive to do better” bit? It’s a promise with teeth—keeps you honest.
Words aren’t just noise. They’re weapons, bridges, or wrecking balls—your call. Jim learned it with Laura. Her brother learned it with Karen. You’ve probably got your own story, some moment where your mouth ran ahead of your brain.
The trick isn’t pretending it didn’t happen—it’s grabbing the wheel after the crash.
✍️ Note to Self: Next time you’re about to unload a zinger, picture it tattooed on your forehead. Still wanna say it?
Next time you feel the zinger loading—pause, breathe, pivot. That’s how change starts: one better choice at a time.
We’ve all had word-regret moments—what matters is what you do next. Keep it human. Keep it honest. Keep going.
AI Sidekick Alert: Today’s Quote was unpacked and shaped with more than a little help from my brilliant, behind-the-scenes AI tools.
About Tony
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Tony Brigmon | Speaker—Emcee | TonyBrigmon.com
Tony Brigmon is a party animal. He’s been known to stay up well past nine o’clock drinking root beer and telling G-rated jokes. Sure, the neighbors complain, but that doesn’t stop him. Because Tony is serious about having fun. Serious fun, with serious results.
As a result of his questionable spelling skills, Tony learned at an early age that his name spelled backward is “YNOT.” As in, “YNOT take a closer look at his book?” Or “YNOT smile when you should be crying?”
Tony was a Southwest Airlines “Insider” and the former “face” of their renowned culture as their official “Ambassador of Fun”. At Southwest Airlines, “fun” was the power of “positivity” that helped catapult a small carrier into a force that changed the airline industry.
Today, Tony is a popular speaker, emcee, and author of The FUNomenal™ Workplace. (FUNomenal™ is pronounced the same as phenomenal but it’s a lot more FUN.)
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines Howard Putnam says: “Tony has a gift for blending fun and capturing ideas in a manner that sticks for audiences.” Tony’s friends say that no one should have so much fun while sober. Tony’s wife said she has had about all the cheerfulness she can stand.
“Fun” transformed this author’s work and life. YNOT discover if the serious power of fun can transform the next 30 seconds of your day or 30 years of your life?
YNOT arrange to have Tony Brigmon teach you and your team how the power of fun can help you get more done, bring out the best in everyone, and make you irresistibly attractive in your communication with others. You can do this. So, YNOT?
