Grief Healing Tips: Forgive Yourself

Last week we talked about the emotional baggage — guilt and regret — we walk around with. In Grief Healing Tips: Forgive yourself I speak about self-forgiveness and self-compassion.

This week’s tip encourages you to offer forgiveness and compassion to yourself.

No matter how much you wish you’d done things differently, you can’t go back and erase what you said or did. You can, however, choose to shift the energy around the person or situation that causes you guilt or regret.

No one moves forward by constantly staring into the rearview mirror.

But that’s what we do when we’re obsessed about the past. At some point we need to make peace and choose better from this point moving forward.

Self-forgiveness is about accepting that you didn’t know any better; or you weren’t willing to do better because of certain misguided beliefs. If you had the information you have today back then, you wouldn’t have done what you did all those months or years ago.

Make the decision to be compassionate to yourself, forgive yourself for who you were not able to be, and make better choices starting right here, right now.

Take Action Now

1. Close your eyes and bring to mind “the self” you struggle to forgive. Maybe she’s hiding in a closet and you have to gain her confidence for her to come out.
2. See yourself opening your arms to this “self” and allow her to feel safe. Speak to her. Tell her that you forgive her for what she said or did. When you feel complete, bless her.
3. Take out your journal and write this letter of forgiveness to yourself. This is how you make it real so you can release it and begin a fresh chapter.

Is there a self-forgiveness issue you’re struggling with? Post your comment below.