Saying Sorry

I apologize A LOT and far too often for unnecessary things. Which means when I'm trying to give a heartfelt apology, it's harder to take me seriously. It's like the boy who cried wolf. If you do something over and over again without really meaning it, people can't always tell whether or not you're actually being sincere. I'm someone who just reacts with a "sorry". If somebody were to accidentally bump into me in passing, I'd apologize before I could even think the situation through. 

I've heard that apologizing too much can almost blur the line between something that is your fault and something that isn't. When I say "sorry", I'm accepting responsibility. But most of the time, I shouldn't really be taking the blame. Big errors are worthy of an apology, small matters aren't. There's a huge difference between apologising for something insignificant like not knowing the date and apologising for something on the other end of the spectrum, like hurting someone's feelings. I'm almost implying that all mistakes are the same and that really takes away from a serious apology. Before I sat down and really thought about how I was using the word "sorry", I considered my frequent apologies a good thing. A polite thing. But that's not true at all. Manners and words like "please" and "thank you" are polite. Throwing "sorry" around absentmindedly isn't. 

I've been trying to save my apologies for meaningful occasions only but I think there are times where a little slip up needs an apology too. It can be difficult to judge whether a situation needs an apology because there are always two sides to every story. You should think about how the other person may rate your mistake because sometimes what we consider harmless may be thought of differently by someone else. I always want to handle a situation in the right way and the last thing I want to do is come off dismissive.  

These are just my thoughts on the word "sorry" and what I've learnt about using the word. What do you think? Also, how do you approach apologies?