In life, there are many decisions, actions, or even mistakes that lead to guilt which makes it an emotion that we all experience from time to time. If the guilt comes from hurting a loved one or potentially damaging your career, it can be very tricky to let go because you are probably still suffering from the consequences. However, you will never be able to move forward successfully if you cannot learn to lose this damaging emotion.
When you hold onto guilt, you hold onto the pain that came at the same time and this leads to other emotions such as anger or even embarrassment. Whenever you hold onto such emotions, you never really have a chance to move forward because it is like trying to drive a car while looking in the rear-view mirror. Of course, this is impossible because you are concentrating on what has been and gone rather than what is in the present and what is yet to come.
To start the process, you have to realize that you cannot change the things that have happened in the past. If you made a mistake or have guilt for certain events, there is no possible way to go back and change your actions. This being said, there is a way to not let it affect your future and that is by letting go. Although this may seem hard at first, you need to let go of this emotion and learn to forgive yourself. Just like you forgive friends, family, colleagues, and others when they make a mistake, you should do the same for yourself for the good of your health.
Over time, people always say that we learn from the good things that happen but we disagree. Instead, we think that you also need to learn from the bad. If you have overwhelming guilt, review the situation and learn a lesson. As soon as you learn from past experiences, you can forget about the guilt and move on. Sadly, we seem to punish ourselves even though others have offered forgiveness and the only person this is damaging is…you guessed it, ourselves.
Although the process of letting go can be difficult at first, you can start the process by writing down your mistakes and the lessons you learned as a result. Furthermore, you can ask for forgiveness from others if this applies or you could even schedule time with a professional to help you process the situation. However you approach your situation, do it with an open mind as well as an open heart to Live Life Fully once again.
