Barbara Millicent Roberts — more commonly known as Barbie — got super real about how girls often feel the overwhelming need to apologize [1] even if they haven't done anything wrong. In a recent YouTube video called "Sorry Reflex," [2] Barbie laid out how detrimental being overly apologetic can be for young women — and we seriously agree with everything she has to say.
She explained that although saying sorry "is a learned reflex," [3] uttering it because it's a force of habit without really meaning it can be harmful to girls' self-confidence. In an effort to make young women rethink how often they apologize, she explained how she challenged her friends and sisters to go an entire day without saying sorry.
So how exactly should women respond when they get bumped into on the street or send their food back at a restaurant? Barbie suggests framing your answer as a "thank you" rather than an apology. "There's so much more power in saying thank you instead of sorry," she said. "It really changes the dynamic in a way that you can feel when you do it."
Now, who's down to count how many times they say sorry throughout their day? We definitely are!