Forgiveness & Self-Esteem
Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself -Maya Angelou
Forgiveness is often defined as a deliberate decision to release feelings of anger, resentment, and retribution to someone who may have harmed you. While it can be very difficult to forgive someone else, it can be even more challenging to forgive yourself. However, self-forgiveness can be extremely beneficial in healing and can feel extremely freeing.
Steps one can take to achieve self-forgiveness:
♡ Accept your situation. It can be helpful to accept who you are and where you are at this moment. Accept life as it is, not how it should be. ♡
♡ Understand what happened and why you are here. What caused you to make the choice(s) you did? What were you trying to meet, given the frame of reference you had at that time? Understanding your frame of reference can make it clear that you were simply doing your best you knew how to do at that time. ♡
♡ Learn from your experience. How did your experience shape you into the person you are today? What wisdom did you learn? You might not be able to go back and change the past, but now you have the opportunity to learn and grow for the future. ♡
♡ Forgive your past self. By saying I forgive you to yourself, you can begin to heal. ♡
Now finish these statements:
♡ Today I will forgive myself for ___
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel ___
♡ I deserve forgiveness because ___
Thank you so much for participating today in day twelve of our self-esteem challenge. Feel free to check out the other self-esteem posts here. We hope that our forum discussion and exercise have been a positive experience, and you are leaving feeling freer and relaxed. Have a lovely day! 
Sources: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-anger/202007/healing-shame-5-steps-self-forgiveness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-anger/202006/healing-guilt-7-steps-self-forgiveness
@Tazzie
♡ Today I will forgive myself for stuttering in class before everyone.
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel confused, because why am I still a little reluctant to forgive myself?
♡ I deserve forgiveness because nobody holds it against me but myself. If clinging onto this grudge against myself is what will strike me down, then I much rather toss it away so I can focus my time on something more useful.
No more moping. I'm gonna direct my eyes forward.
@Meaning0f1ife
Hihi! Stuttering is something I have gone through, and something to an extent I can relate to. It can be super hard to forgive ourselves, and it's okay if you are still feeling a bit reluctant. I hope you can soon get to the point where you can fully and wholeheartedly forgive yourself, and accept your wonderful self. I really admire your resilience and determination to the future. Thank you for sharing, have a lovely day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
♡ Today I will forgive myself for being negative.
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel in control.
♡ I deserve forgiveness because I've changed as a person.
@SophTheListener2022 have you? or were people just blind to who you really were? pressure usually doesn't help people. i believe you were always who you are now. best of luck to you.
@SophTheListener2022 i hope something happens that will make others really see that. because sometimes, only knowledge can reveal you. keeping people in the dark and on a string will never help reveal their best qualities. but hta's not something i have to share with someone like you. we have it. many lack true empathy if it doesn't match their hopes and agendas. good for you, for revealing it when it was appropriate and straight forward. you're a real one.
@SophTheListener2022
Hi! I'm so glad that you are feeling more in control now that you have forgiven yourself. Thank you for sharing! Have a lovely day! ♡
@dworth257 I love the points you brought up, and the different perspectives you offered. Thank you for sharing, and for supporting others! Have a wonderful day! ♡
♡ Today I will forgive myself for ___trusting the wrong person.
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel ___ready to move forward .
♡ I deserve forgiveness because ___I can't control everything and I can't be responsible for other people actions .
@Worrior22Warrior
Hello! It can feel awful realizing we trusted the wrong person, and I'm sorry if you were hurt by them. I feel like that's a really important point you brought up, we can't control everything, nor can we be responsible for other people's actions, only our owns. Thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
♡ Today I will forgive myself for not achieving the targeted goals.
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel relieved.
♡ I deserve forgiveness because I am human, I am learning and growing from my mistakes :)
@incognitoknight0101
Hi! It can feel really bad not reaching the targeted goals. I'm so glad to hear that you have forgiven yourself, and are feeling relieved, and that you are learning and growing, those two things are excellent. Thank you for participating! Have a lovely day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
Thank you so much :) You too have a lovely day :)
@hopedreamlove
Today I will forgive myself for something I can't reveal in public.
Now that I have forgiven myself, I feel more confident and positive about the situation.
I deserve forgiveness because I did not do it knowingly, and everyone makes mistakes.
@CriesFromSmiles123
Hello! It is wonderful to hear that you have forgiven yourself, and are now feeling more confident and positive. I agree, everyone makes mistakes! I also feel they give us an opportunity to learn, and to grow. Thank you so much for sharing! Have a fantastic day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
Today I will forgive myself for being too hard on myself sometimes
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel free
♡ I deserve forgiveness because I am human and I make mistakes
Hi! I am so glad that you are feeling free after forgiving yourself! I can relate to being too hard on ours selves at times. I hope that in the future if you ever feel bad about something, you can remind yourself that you are human and make mistakes, and then forgive yourself. Thank you for participating, have a great day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
Today I will forgive myself for mistakes I did in the past.
Now the I have forgiven myself, I feel that I want to work on myself to be a better person.
I deserve forgiven because I am not what I used to be. :)
@marvellous70
Hello! It is truly inspiring how dedicated you are about working on yourself to become a better person. We all make mistakes and are human, but there is also always room for growth. Thank you for joining us, have a lovely day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
Today I will forgive myself for not being as productive as I would've liked.
Now the I have forgiven myself, I feel better. I tend to tell myself 'it's okay, we can just get it done tomorrow' but having it in writing is somewhat of a promise to myself that it's okay to not feel good some days, but work on bettering myself on other days!
I deserve forgiven because I'm human, and humans can be lazy sometimes!
@caffeinatedcatio
Hi hi! It can be super hard to be productive at times, I definitely can understand the feeling of emotions after not being too productive. I'm so glad that you are feeling better now! I agree, writing things down can definitely help us in achieving our goals and remind us of what we want to remember. Thank you for sharing, have a lovely day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
♡ Today I will forgive myself for not loving myself as a teen
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel great
♡ I deserve forgiveness because I am worthy of it
@azuladragon34
Hi! Loving yourself can be difficult at times, especially as a teenager. By how you said "when I was a teen," I'm thinking that you might be loving yourself, or working on it as an adult, which is amazing. I'm so glad to hear you feel great and recognize that you are worthy of forgiveness. Thank you so much for sharing, have an awesome day! ♡
@hopedreamlove @AmiablePeace77
♡ Today I will forgive myself for relapsing
♡ Now that I have forgiven myself I feel calmer
♡ I deserve forgiveness because it is not a flat easy road to recovery
@JoyfulUnicorn
Hi there! I'm sorry to hear about your relapse, those can be difficult and disappointing. I'm so glad to hear that you have forgiven yourself, and feel calmer. I definitely agree with that statement, there is not a flat easy road to recovery. The journey has its bumps and challenges, but it also has its peaks. I am wishing you the best with your recovery, thank you for sharing, have a great day! ♡
@hopedreamlove
Thankyoufor suck a meaningful reply <3
