5 Ways Forgiveness Helps You Grow

Life presents many challenges and obstacles on a day to day basis. In addition, there are many things that tend to happen that are personal connections to our lives and many times we don’t address them especially if we are individuals that stay busy in our daily activities. From our home lives to our work lives and responsibilities, we tend to just push many things under the proverbial rug, claiming that we’ll get to them when we have a chance to slow down. Unfortunately, many of those things are so connected to our personal emotions and more than not they are connected to people that actually are part of our lives on a daily basis. We harbor these fits of anger, depressions, and pains and end up walking around resembling human pipe bombs because of isolating these combustible elements and choosing not to give them little to no attention at all until someone comes along or something happens that forces us to react. This is very hazardous to our navigation through life and in our ability to effectively and efficiently deal with personal situations, business possibilities or problems and any other circumstance that may present itself to us throughout our day. The goal should be finding ways to forgive ourselves and others that may have had a part in these experiences or feelings of sadness, frustration, and anger.

Below we’ll highlight several ways to practice forgiveness so that we are not anchored down by circumstances that have happened. Hopefully, these tips will serve as a guide to yourself and others to release the feelings that may be hanging onto you, for the betterment of self and those that you will interact with. Let’s check out a few tips.

Don’t Go to Sleep Angry

My mother and grandmother would always say to me to never go to sleep angry or upset with anyone or over anything. They would always say that there is no worse feeling than having your subconscious running in overdrive while your body is supposed to be resting. As I got older I understood clearly what they meant by that statement. The importance of telling someone that you forgive them or at least keep a journal so that you are able to write it out and let it completely go before laying down to rest is not stressed enough however it should be. However, you may need to, find a way not to allow the stresses and worries of your day to sit on your mind by the end of your day. Even activities such as boxing, bowling, skating or simply reading could help reduce and rid of stress that you’re holding onto and workout that forgiveness that you owe yourself to give.

Be Willing to Take Responsibility

Taking responsibility for a situation doesn’t mean that you were wrong in how the situation may have turned out. Neither does it mean that you are admitting to being right or wrong in the situation. Taking on responsibility actually is a sense of power for yourself. It allows you to take a closer look at yourself in the situation. How did you handle the situation? Were you reactive to the individual or situation itself based on emotion or was it an appropriate reaction to the situation? Taking on the responsibility of a situation in which it did not turn out the way in which you expect it to gives you more insight into how you could have handled it a bit better or how you possibly handled it the way that it needed to be handled. Also remember that taking responsibility means that you are also obligated to make sure to forgive and move beyond the hurt, pain, and anger of it.

Learn to Be Like Water And Flow

When you learn to let go and soften your steps by opening your mind to receive more through the experience, you find yourself more able to forgive the individual or situation that has had an impact on you. One of the many things that cause us to hold on to anger and frustration or forces us into depression is that we don’t let things go and we want to control every aspect of the situation including how some people treat us. Must remember, we are not able to control others’ actions but we are able to control our reaction 100% of the time. So we should focus on the control of that reaction that we have full authority over and part of that is the control of forgiving others. Once you understand the power in forgiveness is more for yourself than it is for others, you’ll start practicing the art of forgiveness more frequently. Remember, just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean that you have to forget what the lesson was in the experience that they put upon you. That lesson is a gift, unwrap it and grow from it.

Avoid Digging Two Graves

There is an old saying that states that if you are going to seek revenge, be sure to dig two graves. This statement could be interpreted in so many ways. I personally believe it is clearly saying that your reaction and lack of forgiveness for the wrong that one has done to you, too, will not go without repercussion. For every cause, there is an effect. If your cause is forgiveness and getting beyond the temporary moment of disappointment that may be represented through emotions or reactions of anger, frustration or pain, then you will have a more positive effect on others but more importantly for yourself. More times than not we are focused heavily on the revenge over the respect and peace for ourselves by being the bigger person in the process. Plant trees of growth instead of burying potential and growth.

Let Go Of The So That You Can Give Yourself A Present For The Future You Deserve

So many times we are stuck functioning in a past place which makes it difficult for us to function in our present circumstance. That moves us to put more emphasis on the past, even without full acknowledgment or awareness. We exercise so much energy on how someone made us feel or what they did to us in our past that we actually sabotage our present position. When that happens we completely void out our future possibilities. To practice forgiving our past is a great investment into the valuable future that we can make possible for our mental, physical and financial being. Remember, presents are meant to be opened, so allow your self to open up the possibilities of your present situation for your future security by forgiving your past.

The art of forgiveness is so important and the above pointers and tips can hopefully provide a sense of guidance that can assist in growth both personally and professionally. Please share ways in which you practice forgiveness of people or situations below.