Some words are just space fillers, said automatically, but given meaning by the context.
As far as literal meaning goes, sorry and excuse me are interchangeable: one admits blame, the other asks for forgiveness for blame.
I think the issue here is that you associate sorry with head-ducking, submissive body language,
while excuse me comes along with more self-respecting body language, and when you use these words, the body language comes along for the ride.
That said, there's no reason to see it as a problem. Consider it self-hypnosis. Use the words that create confidence. Avoid the ones that create submissiveness.
On a related note, when I've rubbed someone the wrong way, and I want to keep our statuses balanced, I say, "I think we've misunderstood each other."
As far as literal meaning goes, sorry and excuse me are interchangeable: one admits blame, the other asks for forgiveness for blame.
I think the issue here is that you associate sorry with head-ducking, submissive body language,
while excuse me comes along with more self-respecting body language, and when you use these words, the body language comes along for the ride.
That said, there's no reason to see it as a problem. Consider it self-hypnosis. Use the words that create confidence. Avoid the ones that create submissiveness.
On a related note, when I've rubbed someone the wrong way, and I want to keep our statuses balanced, I say, "I think we've misunderstood each other."