Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

How to forgive yourself for past mistakes?

109 Answers
Last Updated: 05/03/2021 at 1:25pm
How to forgive yourself for past mistakes?
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Kelly Brast, MA, LPC-S, LSOTP, CART

Licensed Professional Counselor

Life can be overwhelming sometimes. I specialize in helping people organize their thoughts, getting rid of the things holding them back, and finding a path to a better future.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
May 1st, 2016 7:58pm
You have to accept that you can not change the past. What you must do now, is look to the future and focus on only that.
Anonymous
May 14th, 2016 1:24am
In order to forgive yourself, be sure that you are able to forgive others around you! That's a great step to learning how to deal with forgiveness and guilt within yourself. Also, put yourself with friends who can be honest and that you can talk to when you struggle with past mistakes!
LovelyDreamer99
May 18th, 2016 1:00pm
You can forgive yourself for past mistakes by setting goals and not repeating that same mistake over and over again
amiableEyes21
May 19th, 2016 9:41pm
It depends person to person. Some people go to their religion eg; confession, or some apologize to others. It varies.
BrilliantSanity74
May 20th, 2016 2:30pm
It can be helpful to remember that all of the decisions we make are based on what we think will make us happy in any given moment. Sometimes we get confused and make mistakes, but these mistakes do not make us bad people.
HereToHelpYou742
May 25th, 2016 12:24am
It already happened how bad did affect you. If it bothers you a lot you probably need to talk to someone and work on forgiving and guilt
CalmChameleon
May 29th, 2016 9:36pm
"Running" from your mistakes is not a wise approach. Instead, search for a solution or conclusion to help you get past the mistake, and then learn to leave in in the past, but don't ignore it, acknowledge and do your best to accept it, or it will reoccur later.
Anonymous
June 1st, 2016 5:24am
hi my friend so you are talking about past mistake so i feel like you have done same mistake and realize that u have done some thing wrong now to avoid such things or to fix yourself you need to be attentive in every moment that what are you doing does it will affect or not being attentive will help you to fix your problem now main thing have patience keep urself calm just breathe and drink water when you dont feel well or think you have stuck.
bigDreamer94
June 5th, 2016 1:04am
You learn from your past mistakes. As much as it hurts to think about your mistake. You have changed.
JoyfulHeart822
June 8th, 2016 2:39am
Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has a past. Remind yourself that it's in the past, and that it's okay. If you can, try to get some closure. For example, if you did something bad to someone, get there forgiveness. Or if you told a lie, come clean. It will make it much easier to forgive yourself when your conscience is clean.
Zebrasarcastic
June 10th, 2016 1:29pm
The past is in the past you can't change it you can just learn form it and take it as a strength to improve yourself
Anonymous
June 11th, 2016 9:00pm
A mistake is not something to feel guilty about, is something that makes you understand who you are and grow. Yes, it can hurt, yes, it can be difficult and slow your journey, but it'll lead you to a better yourself, and when you'll look back it will all make sense.
BassistBriar
June 15th, 2016 10:07am
In order to forgive yourself for past mistakes, you must realize that those mistakes can, and will help you create a better future for yourself. Mistakes are a part of everyday life. They are used to show that, yes you did something wrong, but you now know what to do and what not to do. To forgive yourself, realize that you have much more in life to look forward to.
Anonymous
June 23rd, 2016 9:19pm
To forgive yourself for past mistakes. That's hard to do. Just focus on what you did, and tell yourself, "I'm a human, I make mistakes, I'm not perfect, and what I did, I have learned from." Seeing what you've learned from your mistakes can be the best thing for you. :D
Link22
June 24th, 2016 2:45am
Try to tell yourself that you are only human. And that everything kinda happens for a reason. Reassure yourself. Tell yourself that everything WILL fall into place.
delightfulKiwi95
August 1st, 2016 6:38am
Forgiving yourself for past mistakes starts with realizing that whatever happened is in the past, and is set in stone.
happyevie3
April 3rd, 2017 8:42pm
As difficult as it may be, I think it's important to remember that we are not alone and that everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we make choices that we felt were good at the time. But we can't beat ourselves up about that. We need to move forward and say "I messed up in the past. I can't change that. But I can change how I move forward".
Samuelll
July 11th, 2017 6:45am
Making mistakes is a part of being human, everyone makes mistakes believe it or not, but you most likely won't hear much about them because people don't like talking about their own misgivings. So recognize that making mistakes is part of the human experience and there are no mistakes, only lessons.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2021 1:25pm
Forgiving yourself for past mistakes can be a challenge, but not impossible. Self-blame and negative feelings will create a hard time to find a positive outcome on the situation. Dwelling on past events can impact your mental and physical health. First steps can be speaking to others, finding a way to improve your inner critic, and to let go of negative thoughts. We all make mistakes, but the best thing about mistakes is the growth you receive. Bottling up negative feelings can lead to an explosive reaction so talking about how you feel to someone can allow you to feel relief and to hear other opinions. Forgiving yourself is growth.