Healing from any nature of the damage is already a humungous task that needs a great amount of positive energy and spiritual strength. But if it’s your own guilt that seems to gnaw at your self-esteem, don’t think twice about embarking on the journey of self-forgiveness with me. In this blog, I’m focusing on breaking down the progression into small steps that are easy to adopt and implement in life regularly.
You will feel a certain sense of relief once you start healing. Gradually unburdening from guilt will result in a transformation of your lifestyle, outlook on life, and physical health.
Let’s find out how to manifest reconciliation with your inner person and find forgiveness.
Self-Forgiveness vs. Self-Compassion
Although both of these traits are equally important in healing from remorse, it is necessary to realize that they are very different from each other. Self-forgiveness is merely a facet of self-compassion. If you’re sympathetic to yourself, you won’t have a hard time forgiving your own mistakes and faults.
For a person to be compassionate towards himself/herself, one has to be self-understanding. This comes from developing healthy coping skills and logical reasoning. You need to go to therapy if it is difficult to form these habits. Also, friends and family play an important role in supporting to cultivate self-compassion. However, if you need an instant remedy to stop beating yourself, purchase my guided meditation session. Once you establish self-compassion, you will become more friendly toward yourself. As much as it is important to wipe the slate clean for others, making allowance for your own guilt and shame is also critical.
The next part of my blog will discover how to heal from guilt or shame and earn your forgiveness.
Journey toward self-forgiveness
Life gives you curveballs on many occasions and things might not go as you have planned. You may at times make decisions in these very moments that challenge your own self-perception. Having low self-esteem creates problems in attaining self-compassion.
Therefore, it is essential to be compassionate toward yourself, holding onto guilt and shame and never completely forgiving, and forgetting the past is traumatizing in multiple ways. I’m going to jot down some vital steps that will lead to self-love, healing from guilt, and achieving self-forgiveness.
Ø Acknowledge the guilt/shame you’re feeling
Both of these feelings are similar in nature yet their effects on our personalities are completely different. Being ashamed of yourself lowers self-esteem which is why it is considered unhealthy remorse. It reinforces a negative self-image. On the contrary, feeling guilty is healthy in the sense that it leads to open doors that give way to positive behavior change.
Therefore, feeling disappointed about your decisions or course of action is a positive sign unless you start blaming yourself. When you acknowledge the fact that you’re accountable for your mistakes and the related consequences, you will start learning how to forgive yourself.
Ø Assess and learn from the mistake
Looking back to the time when things went wrong and you did not behave as you should have makes you reconcile with your inner demon. Human nature is full of mistakes. Every person is prone to make errors.
Assessing your mistakes does not mean harsh self-criticism. Think back compassionately yet responsibly. Try to understand why you did it. Put yourself mentally in the situation again and observe how things could have ended up differently. When you’ll learn what needs you were trying to meet, the blunders will become meaningful experiences. This is a very important step while walking down the path of healing and self-forgiveness.
Ø Healing from guilt and earning your forgiveness
Recognition of your ability to make faults that can be amended will heal you from all the negative feelings and disappointments. Once you have a clean conscience, earning your forgiveness through self-compassion is going to be comparatively easy. Another noteworthy step is to be empathetic to the other party involved. Minimize the damage incurred by putting your regret into action and amending mistakes. Moreover, apply the lessons you have learned with mindfulness. In no time, you’ll be ready to forgive and won’t hold yourself accountable.
In conclusion, here are some effective, easy-to-apply tips for developing self-compassion:
- Be grateful
- Count your blessings
- Read
- Be kind and empathetic to others
- Be authentic
- Avoid making excuses or searching for justifications
- Set boundaries
- Cultivate inner wisdom
Let us know in the comments if you’ve ever faced difficulty being compassionate to yourself, and how did you heal?
