The Apology That Will Never Come

Why You Don’t Need Their Permission to Move On

Feb 25, 2025

Some wounds heal with time. Others? They stay open because we won’t stop picking at them.

We tell ourselves that closure is a conversation. A final moment. An apology given or received. But closure is never something you get from someone else. It’s something you give yourself—like a locked door only you have the key to. Keep waiting, and you stay locked inside your own suffering.

I learned this the hard way—through six years of waiting, suffering, and hoping for something that was never coming.

I spent six years trying to heal from a heartbreak, but instead of moving on, I stayed stuck. Why? Because I kept trying to include the other person in my healing. The one who wanted nothing to do with me. And yet, I waited. For acknowledgment. For mutual understanding. For some sense of closure.

I remember the nights I spent replaying every conversation, analyzing every moment, convincing myself that if I could just find the right words, the right way to fix it, then maybe she would engage. Maybe then I could move on. But a wound you pick at does not heal. And a wound you let someone else attend to may never be dealt with at all.

The Trap of Waiting for Closure

There is a kind of waiting that rots the soul.

Waiting for an apology that may never come. Waiting for the right moment to say, “I’m sorry.” Waiting for someone to finally understand your side of the story.

But here’s the truth: The past doesn’t owe you anything. And the moment you make your healing dependent on someone else’s participation, you give them the keys to your freedom.

That’s amateur level stuff. That’s Base Level and Culture Level thinking—chained to the belief that your peace depends on someone else’s approval. Next Level Humans break free from the idea that anyone can hold any power over them unless you let them.

Next Level Humans know better. They take radical responsibility for their own growth. They don't live in the illusion that someone else holds the missing piece to their healing. They reclaim their power and decide, once and for all, that they are enough. They don’t sit around hoping the universe will make things right. They don’t wait for someone else to give them permission to let go.

Because waiting is a choice. And it’s a choice that keeps you stuck.

Authenticity is Sovereignty

The only person you need to get right with is yourself.

You don’t need their permission to forgive yourself.
You don’t need their understanding to move forward.
You don’t need to be liked, accepted, or validated to heal.

Authenticity is sovereignty. It’s the power to walk away, unburdened. It’s the courage to stand alone if you must. It’s the realization that you answer to no one but yourself.

So let them misunderstand you. Let them judge you. Let them think they were right about you.

That is their burden to carry—not yours.

How to Free Yourself (Right Now)

The only real closure is self-closure. And it comes down to this:

Forgive yourself without needing them to see it.
- Apologies are for the ego. Forgiveness is for the soul.
Accept that the past will never be rewritten.
- You can either live in the past or build your future. You can’t do both.
Decide that you’re done waiting.
- Stop making your peace dependent on their participation.
Use it to learn, grow and evolve.
- All of this is about elevating to your best self. As long as you have learned and grown who cares if anyone else notices.

You don’t need their apology. And you don’t need the perfect moment to give yours.

All you need is the courage to be done and the conviction to be different.

Your Challenge

What are you still waiting for? What conversation do you think you need before you can move on?

Drop the waiting. Make the choice to be free—right now. Imagine how different your life would be if you never let another person hold your peace hostage again.

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P.S. If you’re done letting other people dictate your peace, it’s time to step up. Next Level Human coaching is where you break free, own your authenticity, and stop looking to the past for answers. Join now. 👉 www.nextlevelhuman.com/human-coaching