As we all come together to begin a fresh new year, doesn’t it feel like holding grudges from last year is only going to drag you down and put you in a bad mental place? You have turned a new leaf on your calendar, so maybe it is time to turn a new leaf in your personal life and relationships too. At the end of the day, holding a grudge does as much damage to you as is does the person on the other side. Here is why forgiveness is so good for you.
Forgiving somebody for something doesn’t make you weak or a doormat; it means that you have chosen to be a mature person and see the need to let this strife go to be able to live a more relaxed and stress-free life. Forgiveness isn’t weakness, it is the first step to being able to move on.
Choosing to forgive is an empowering act, one that allows you to reclaim control over your emotional well-being. It's about your peace of mind, not about condoning hurtful behavior. By releasing the burden of resentment, you open the door to healing and create the possibility for growth and emotional liberation. Indeed, forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself more than to the one who wronged you. It paves the way to understanding, compassion, and the potential for renewed trust.
Sometimes, by forgiving someone you have had a long time feud with, it can actually oil the wheels of friendship to help create a better relationship in the future. Some silly arguments go on so long that you forget what they were even about in the first place. Just forgive and forget and you never know what might sprout from it.
The key to maintaining a good relationship or friendship is being able to forgive the small little things, because we are all only human, and we mess up a lot! If you shut the door on every single person who ever annoyed you or did something wrong, your life would be a very lonely place. It’s all about being able to recognise what things deserve forgiving, and what things are more serious.
Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us, so do you really want to go to bed at night thinking that the way you have left some relationships might never be able to be changed? I think it is always better to go to sleep with a clear mind and clear conscience, and the best way to achieve that is to be the bigger person and be ready to forgive whenever you can.
The first person you need to forgive is yourself, on a regular basis! If you beat yourself up too much and don’t allow yourself room to make mistakes, you are always going to be living on the edge of a breakdown. You aren’t perfect, neither am I, in fact nobody is, so be more accepting of your flaws and forgive yourself way more often!