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Why Forgiveness is Important

 

Have you ever thought that lack of forgiveness could be holding you back from achieving the life and relationships that you so dearly want to create in your life?  Let’s talk . . .

Forgiveness

Photo by hang_in_there

A Favorite Forgiveness Quote

“Forgive yourself for your faults and mistakes and move on” Les Brown

It can be harder to forgive yourself for perceived faults and mistakes than it is to forgive others.  However, it is necessary to do so.

In order to move forward into that future you want to create, you need to release the guilt. Holding on keeps you stuck, unable to successfully reach your goals and dreams. 

Why is it Important to Forgive Yourself First?

When you live your life holding on to ideas that you did something wrong, you punish yourself unnecessarily.  A mentor of mine once told me that guilt over an occurrence in the past only punishes.

It does not resolve the why of it happening.  It does not protect or keep the person safe. What it does do is keep you stuck in pain.

He told me that it was imperative to learn what you could learn from the past situation and leave the emotion of guilt out of the equation.

He was right.  When you learn from it, release the guilt, you are free to move forward, towards the life that you deserve to create.

Forgiveness not Forgetting

There is a simple exercise that I can show you that can help you to release the guilt and move towards forgiveness.  Note:  Simple is not always easy . . .

I would like you to imagine a small event in the past that you feel guilty about, that you still do not forgive yourself for. Please, make it a SMALL event, NOT a major trauma.

Take a deep breath and close your eyes . . . just like that . . .

When you think of that SMALL event that you had in the past, ask yourself these questions:

What did I learn from this experience? (wait a moment for the answer . . . there will be one or more)

What information can I take into my future to prevent this from happening again?  Is there any?

Can I think of other ways to protect myself, other resources, other than guilt?

See that younger version of you, in that past, looking up at you, eyes pleading, asking you "Please forgive me". 

Then imagine yourself, in that past event that you had, letting go of any guilt or negative emotions, like a string of balloons filled with helium . . . letting them go, drifting off into the great expanse of the universe . . . feel the joy rising in your heart, filling that space that used to be occupied with guilt. 

If you would like, you could see the you from now bending down and giving the you from the past a big hug and telling yourself that everything is okay and that you are forgiven. 

Forgiveness, a Powerful Gift to Give Yourself

  • You did the best you could with the resources you had

  • You did learn from the experience

  • You can move forward lightly into the future, having released the burden of guilt

Create your life from a point of power in love and see the magic unfold.  Once you release that guilt and employ forgiveness in your life, you will see changes that you could never imagine before . . . I promise . . .

 

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Sherie

I am a Relationship Coach who helps others create happy, healthy, loving relationships…including the relationship they have with themselves…by breaking through those blocks and barriers to success. I use various techniques gathered through training as a Master Practitioner of NLP, timeline, hypnosis and common sense gathered through life experience.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Dr. Daisy Sutherland December 11, 2011, 3:26 pm

    Great article and tips! Forgiveness will certainly set you free and it must always begin with oneself. Thanks for sharing:)

    • Sherie December 11, 2011, 4:31 pm

      Thank you, Dr. Daisy!

  • Vicky Savellis-Grant December 8, 2011, 5:28 pm

    Great article! Thanks for sharing!

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 6:12 pm

      You’re welcome! Thank you for reading it! : D

  • Norma Doiron @Living|Healthy|Wealthy|Wise December 8, 2011, 2:55 pm

    So much easier to forgive others than forgive myself. You truly spoke to my heart today…. Thanks! x0x
    The LEARNED Preneur @ NormaDoiron.Net

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 3:43 pm

      I am so glad, Norma! : D

  • Lisa Birnesser December 8, 2011, 2:29 pm

    A wise spiritual mentor told me that guilt was a useless emotion. It’s amazing how we can hold ourselves hostage emotionally with guilt. Great article!

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 2:31 pm

      . . . and we do, do it to ourselves, don’t we? So we can also be the ones who set ourselves free with forgiveness. Thank you, Lisa!

  • Marie December 8, 2011, 2:09 pm

    Such a simple principle, so profound, so important, but so hard to put into practice. If we could all be better at this and be a little easier on ourselves, what a better world it would be.

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 2:25 pm

      It would definitely be a better world….thank you, Marie.

  • Rhonda Uretzky December 8, 2011, 1:33 pm

    Forgiveness is for goodness sake – yours and the person you’re forgiving. Great article here.

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 2:26 pm

      Thank you, Rhonda.

  • Nancy Olson, The Celiac Warrior December 8, 2011, 8:14 am

    Very powerful article! I have heard forgive yourself and things will move in the right direction. I never thought that it was as powerful as some have said. Thanks

    • Sherie December 8, 2011, 2:26 pm

      Thank you for your comment, Nancy.

  • Julie Weishaar December 7, 2011, 3:07 pm

    Guilt is a useless emotion – it accomplishes nothing except holds us in the past and prohibits us from forgiving ourselves and moving on. With that said I need to remind myself of this very often! 🙂 Great post – thanks for sharing!

    • Sherie December 7, 2011, 3:18 pm

      We all do, Julie! Thank you for your comment!

  • Solvita December 7, 2011, 1:08 pm

    Love forgiveness, nothing more can set you free than this amazing ability…thank you Sherie, you are such a masterful coach, I can feel how grateful your amazing clients are to be in your caring hands.

    • Sherie December 7, 2011, 2:32 pm

      Awww…..gee, thank you so much, Solvita, for your very, very kind words!

  • Lorii Abela December 7, 2011, 11:45 am

    Wonderful. Definitely, this is a great message to everyone to know how important forgiving is, especially when we are talking about forgiving yourself. Thank you for sharing this Sherie… 🙂

    • Sherie December 7, 2011, 12:09 pm

      Thank you so much for your comment, Lorii!! : D

  • Lorrie December 7, 2011, 10:59 am

    In Buddhism there is a word for loving-kindness directed toward the self, maitri. I find it to be the hardest and most profound practice. Hard, because my habit is to focus on others to my own disregard. Easy, because we can only truly tend to others in the ways we tend to ourselves.

    Thanks, Sherie, always enjoy my time on your page!

    • Sherie December 7, 2011, 11:16 am

      Thank you for your comment, Lorrie! I did not know about that practice and yes, it can be hard.

  • Eva Blaskovic December 6, 2011, 9:00 am

    A great message for everyone, especially, “You did the best you could with the resources you had” and “You did learn from the experience.” Forgiving yourself also gives you more capacity to forgive others.

    • Sherie December 6, 2011, 11:54 am

      Yes!! Thank you, Eva!

  • Rob Hodgins December 5, 2011, 8:07 am

    BRAVO!

    • Sherie December 5, 2011, 10:40 am

      : D : D