The art of practising self-forgiveness requires the sense of self where you are totally aware of who you’re and why you do what you do. It can be challenging to forgive yourself when you’re not ready to accept the mistake or acknowledge the reason behind making one.
It’s so important to understand that being a human, it’s totally natural to be imperfect and make mistakes. You really don’t have to beat yourself or be harsh for the mistakes you made. However, at the same time, it’s necessary to take responsibility for your actions and be mindful of them.
It was hard for me to practice self-forgiveness initially; however, with proper tools and tips, I learned to embrace my flawed self. Here are some mindful tips that I used to forgive myself with a deeper level of consciousness.
Take responsibility for your action
You’re often not able to forgive yourself because you fail to see an improved version of yourself. This will only be possible if you take responsibility for your actions and acknowledge your mistakes.
Once you take responsibility for whatever you did, you get the power to change it or you can always make sure that it doesn’t happen again. You can only take the next step to amend your flaws once you’re ready and willing to accept as well as take some measures about the same.
Do not run away from your emotions
While practicing self-forgiveness, you’re bound to encounter certain emotions like shame, guilt, anger which are all part of the process and natural to arise.
However, at times, we fail to feel these emotions and keep on suppressing them. These emotions get bundled up and it can be very difficult to process them later.
To truly forgive yourself it is necessary that your emotions flow like a wave instead of getting stagnant. It’s totally okay and recommended to experience your emotions the time they arise.
Practice self-awareness
A healthy sense of self-awareness will make you feel your emotions as they arise. Practice some mindful activities to be in touch with your authentic self. When you know who you are, you will be able to find out that it’s very human of you to accept and forgive yourself for the mistakes you made.
Here are a few activities that will help you stay grounded and be aware of yourself:
1. Breathing exercises
2. Do something that brings you joy
3. Practice meditation
4. Get artistic or make an art
5. Have a good cry
Choose an activity that helps you let go of things and makes you feel empty and light.
Overcome the feeling of guilt or shame
Now that you have acknowledged your feelings and are aware of yourself, it’s time to let go of the feeling of guilt and shame.
Many times, we associate these feelings with our self-worth and hence it becomes challenging to forgive ourselves because we don’t think ourselves quite worthy of the same.
In this stage, it’s so very necessary to practice self-care and be kind to yourself. You made a mistake, you realized it and you’re willing to take further actions for the same. So, remember you deserve to forgive yourself just because you’re choosing to change.
The bottom line:
Forgiving yourself can be intimidating if you’re not ready to accept, acknowledge or mend your actions. Once you follow these above steps and accept from a deeper level that you can always choose to change, self-forgiveness will become a bit easier.
These steps helped me let go of my faults while accepting them and I so hope that this piece serves the same for you.
I would love to know your views on practising self-forgiveness. Do drop them in the comments below.
