You Can Forgive Yourself
Forgiveness is great for the person being forgiven, especially when that person happens to be yourself.
All of us have what we perceive to be personal failings. Perhaps we made a bad decision. Or maybe we hurt someone we loved. Our daily tasks sometimes overwhelm us, and we fall behind. We get fired. We miscommunicate.
Whatever the reason, we often hold ourselves to a much higher standard than we do others—we fail to forgive ourselves for mistakes we’d easily forgive others for.
This leaves us miserable, plunged into a sea of self-loathing, and the mistakes worsen because of this. The self-loathing intensifies, and the cycle continues.
But if you can practice forgiveness well enough to forgive your worst enemy, you can eventually learn to forgive yourself, as well.
Forgiving yourself means accepting your own humanity. You are both valuable and flawed—these are parts of being human. Everyone makes mistakes. Hold yourself responsible for each mistake by learning from it, not by beating yourself up—the latter does no good.
Learning to forgive may start with those outside yourself, but it should eventually extend inward. Forgive yourself, and you’ll find a peace you never knew existed.
