Do you live in guilt and find it hard to forgive yourself for your past mistakes? Learn from happy people how they master the art of forgiving themselves.
Life has its ups and downs and as humans we are bound to make mistakes, which are meant to serve as life lessons. But often, we bottle up our past and allow guilt to steal the pleasures of living in the moment. The best thing about being young is that we have choices that can lead to a bright and happy future, but that biggest disadvantage is that time waits for no one and we won’t be young forever. I came to this realisation when I saw how I took life as a chore and allowed my past mistakes to block my happiness. You do, eventually, get to a point where you can’t get lower than the state you choose to find yourself in. It gets tiring and daunting, not only to yourself but to those around you. There’s something about a negative energy that puts people off. So don’t be that person. Take charge of your life today by forgiving yourself and letting go of your past. This is how happy people do it:
- They leave the past where it belongs: Happy people know that we can’t change the past and they accept that what’s done is done. When you try to open up to accepting what you can’t change and find lessons from your past you will take the first step to self-forgiveness.
- It’s how we rise that matters: Life happens and we fall from time to time, whether through getting involved with the wrong partner, making bad decisions or screwing up that job interview but it’s how we rise above our circumstances that matters.
- They ask for forgiveness: Sometimes we wrong other people for our selfish reasons but happy people know when to humble themselves, sincerely ask for forgiveness from those they wronged and find ways of moving on.
- They take accountability for their actions: Instead of shifting the blame to others for their mistakes, happy people use their experiences as lessons and take accountability for their actions.
- They take it easy: Being hard on yourself is the worse thing you can do. Life presents opportunities to learn, but mostly it is a journey you are meant to enjoy. Happy people embrace their shortcomings and allow themselves to cry, and sulk. But the most important trait they have is rising above negative emotions and embracing the beauty that is called life.
What have you forgiven yourself for?
