We all have imperfections. So, all of us make mistakes often knowingly or unknowingly. You already know this. However, sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you cannot forgive yourself for the mistakes you made in the past due to guilt, shame, or self-blame.
No matter what you do, you cannot change your past. I firmly believe that worrying about the past even for one second is just a waste of precious time that you have in your hands right now.
The only that we can and we must do is learn from our mistakes and go forward. This article is all about how to forgive yourself for past mistakes and how to move forward. So, let’s get going.
Contents
What Does It Mean to Forgive Yourself?
Forgiving yourself does not mean that you completely forget or ignore what went wrong. Instead, forgiving is a decision you make to free yourself from the negative perspective that you have created on yourself.
When you take the decision to forgive yourself, you come from a place where there is self-love and compassion. And most importantly, you need to have the will to let go of the past if you seek forgiveness for yourself.
So how can we do this? Well, forgiving yourself is a step-by-step process and let’s get deeper into those steps now.
Identifying Your Mistakes
So how do we do this? Well, first of all, you need to identify your mistakes and acknowledge what went wrong. Think of your mistakes and accept that what happened wrong was all your responsibility.
Reflect on the impact that your mistakes had on yourself and others around you. It is crucial that you do this and acknowledge that you are responsible for the consequences of your mistakes as the first step of the process of forgiving yourself.
Accept That You Also Have Imperfections
Once you accept your mistakes, you need to understand that everyone makes mistakes just like you did. Accept that you have imperfections like everyone else and convince yourself that it is unavoidable to live without mistakes.
Look at yourself from a self-compassionate perspective and tell yourself that your mistakes do not define you.
Making Amends
Then, you need to take action to fix the harm caused by your mistakes. If you have to apologize to the other person, just do. Making amends can help you to release yourself from guilt and shame.
Of course, you may face instances where the other person doesn’t want to forgive you. But do what you can from your end. It is all about taking responsibility for what happened and trying to make things right from your end.
Learning From Your Mistakes
Another crucial step that you must follow is grabbing the lessons out of your mistakes. Identifying the lesson and applying the same can assist you to avoid happening the same mistake in the future.
In other words, this is how you achieve self-growth in life. Mistakes are what shape us into a better version of ourselves. Keep in mind that without mistakes, you cannot grow.
Letting Go of Shame and Guilt
As the next step, you need to let go of shame and guilt. Both of those feelings negatively affect your mental health and in the long run, your physical health as well.
You need to look at yourself from a compassionate and self-loving perspective. Tell yourself that you deserve to be forgiven like everyone else.
Take deep breaths and tell your mind that you release yourself from the shame and guilt of the mistakes you made because you have already made amends and learned from your mistakes.
Moving Forward
After indulging in the above steps, you will be able to slowly forgive yourself. However, forgiving yourself is not the only thing that you should focus on. It is equally crucial that you move forward as well. You need to adopt a growth mindset and go forward in life to further improve yourself and to be the best version of yourself.
Conclusion
It is undoubtedly one of the hardest things to forgive yourself for past mistakes that you did. However, it is doable. It requires patience, self-compassion, and willingness to improve yourself. Remember that you are not the only one who deals with such issues. However, if you feel lonely, you can always get help from relevant parties to assist you in forgiving yourself.