Monday 19 October 2020

Don't Look Back in Anger - Why you should forgive them! #Blogtober20

I am taking part in Blogtober20 throughout October and today's prompt is "Don't Look Back in Anger".

People have done things to me and hurt me in the past and I held on to that anger for a long time and it wore me down. It wasn't good for me or those around me. I have learned to forgive but to me forgiving doesn't mean that I will forget. I am still wary of people that have wronged me in the past but I have forgiven them and let it go.


Forgiving someone that has hurt or wronged you is easier said than done but there are many reasons why you should:

Everyone makes mistakes.
It is rubbish when someone has wronged or hurt you but everyone makes mistakes and can get caught up in misunderstandings. Sometimes in the middle of an argument things can seem or sound worse then they are and don't try to tell me that you haven't said something in the heat of the moment that you wished you could take back. I know I certainly have.

Living in the past makes you miserable.
It is much better to live in the now than think about the what if's and what you could have done differently. When my mother up and left my dad I spent years thinking I could have done something to change things. I might have been able to stop her leaving with her and my dad's life savings the day she left but I doubt it would have stopped her leaving altogether.

Forgiving does not mean you forget.
When you forgive someone you are letting go of the negative energy inside of you but you don't have to forget. If someone has for example lied to you or stole from you they could easily do it again. You are well within your rights to be cautious with them.

It doesn’t excuse what they did.
When you forgive someone it doesn’t mean that what they did to you is okay. It doesn’t mean that you deserve to be treated like that and they’re free to do it again. Instead, it means that you’re choosing not to carry that anger around with you anymore which is better for your mental health.

Be the bigger person.
It’s tempting to play the blame game and it's easy to be angry at someone when they've hurt you. I have said in the past that I won't reach out to someone because I was so hurt but now I've realised that I was placing the ability to heal in someone else’s control. By being the bigger person, you hold all power. 

You will be happier.
Letting go of negative emotions will free up space for more positive ones. Instead of being angry, sad and feeling down you will have more energy to feel positive emotions.

Life is too short.
Life is too short to be mad at people. I found this out when my mother passed away a few years ago. We never spoke for years and I ran out of time to forgive her and her me. I'd like to think she'd changed as a person and regretted some of her decisions. Don't go through life holding a grudge, everyone makes mistakes.

Do you hold a grudge or do you forgive?


5 comments :

  1. I agree 100%, but you only have to read my post for today to see that. Great minds think alike :)

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  2. Living in the past can ruin your life - let it go. #MMBC

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  3. I agree with all this I made myself ill once through not letting go

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  4. I don't bear a grudge but I don't forget what some people did.

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