“Guilt is the trick that makes you feel that you’re unworthy, and if you feel that you’re unworthy then you will feel that you don’t deserve any good thing to happen to you.”- Tyler Perry

Guilt is a necessary part of life, but if you hold on to it for too long it can damage a life. I’ve been a witness to this. Someone very close to me was constantly apologizing for all his mistakes and bad decisions. He was trapped and couldn’t move past it. He carried the burden of his troubles even though all the people involved had moved on with their lives and  forgiven him. He didn’t learn how to forgive himself,  so he never really lived.

We all make mistakes. There is not one person living or dead that hasn’t done the wrong thing or made a bad decision. We all experience guilt at some time. The feeling is a signal that tells you that you made a bad choice and that you should make a different choice next time. The mistake some make is that they turn guilt into a stick that they emotionally beat themselves with . If you feel guilt over things that happened years ago, you are mentally beating yourself over and over. You are punishing yourself for something you did when you knew less and understood less about who you were as a person. There is no benefit to this punishment. All it does is give you an excuse not to live or enjoy anything that comes into your life.

If you believe in some form of religion or spirituality, there is a system in place to absolve you of your mistakes and bad decisions. We have to also have that system in place in our selves. We have to power to be completely unforgiving to ourselves and we aren’t even aware of it. When you love yourself,  it requires you to let yourself off for your mistakes and bad decisions. Do you know how you erase a bad decision? It is by making a good decision. Whenever you make a bad decision, you will face the same situation again years later. It’s a test to see if you learned anything. When you face it, make the right decision this time. Prove that you learned and absolve yourself.

Guilt is a healthy part of life, but it is all in how you use it.  If you do someone or something wrong and you feel no guilt, that is a sign that you are not emotionally aware and you need to seek help. If you hold on to your guilt for years, you are punishing yourself and preventing yourself from living. In all things, there must be balance. If you feel guilt and you learn from it, it has served its purpose in your life.

Can you forgive yourself today? Do you see how not forgiving yourself is keeping you stuck? Share in comments

 

[subscribe2]