“My boyfriend is mad at me and he won’t forgive me.” You absolutely do not want to hear yourself saying that. Unfortunately, most women will at some point in their relationship. They do something, be it major or minor, that gets under their boyfriend’s skin. He gets angry, and the entire dynamic of the relationship changes. He no longer calls, he makes excuses for not wanting to spend time with you and you feel as though it’s just a matter of time before he finally dumps you.

We all make mistakes. All we can do is work towards righting them. Depending on the type of person your boyfriend is, getting him to forget what happened may be simple or it may pose more of a challenge. Regardless, you have to take it upon yourself to help him move past your indiscretion. You can do that if you understand how to.

The first thing you’ve got to do when your boyfriend is mad at you is apologize. Seems obvious, right? It is but many women don’t do it right. You’re going to feel compelled to go extravagant with this. Things like writing long love letters by hand or sending him a song via email that reflects how much you love him. Don’t resort to tactics like these. He’ll be offended by them. Instead, call him and tell you’re sorry. Try to be calm and strong when you do this. Groveling may seem tempting, but it won’t get you another chance with him.

You also have to get to work ensuring you won’t do the thing that angered him again. Once you’ve hurt your boyfriend you have to work very hard so you don’t make that mistake again. Although you can tell him that you’ll be a different woman in the future, let your actions show that to be the case. Move forward each day with the intention of learning from your mistakes. It shows what a mature person you are.

Give him time. This is incredibly hard to do after you’ve hurt someone but it’s essential if you hope to smooth things over. Many people, particularly men, need time to process what they’re feeling. They can’t do that if the person who upset them is always right there trying to erase the mistake. He needs time away from you right now and that time may actually be beneficial. It may allow him the chance to really weigh your mistake against the entire relationship. A few days of not talking may bring you two right back together again.