Did you make New Year’s Resolutions for 2010? Are you on your way to reaching them? Are opportunities knocking on your door allowing you to do in life what you’ve always wanted to do. To be who you’ve always dreamed you could be? Or are you finding yourself stagnant on your way to achieving your goals?
Forgiveness can play an integral part in freeing up energy to allow you to focus on achieving what you set out to achieve. It will allow you truly cut ties with any bonds from your past and focus on creating your future and living in the present. It will easily let you let go of the old habits and grudges and to open yourself to new ways of thinking and being.
There are many paths to forgiveness and they all lead to a more peaceful and balanced existence. Studies on the power of forgiveness have suggested that it’s an important key to healthy mental and physical living. People who are able to forgive feel less depression, less anger, less stress and more joy and compassion in their lives. Not only towards others but also towards themselves.
Forgiveness is not always automatically taught to everyone. Unless you come from a culture or background where forgiveness is expected or naturally accepted, you may not know how it’s done or what it’s purpose is. You may be weary of forgiving because you may hold some misconceptions about what it means to forgive.
Forgiveness does not mean that you have to reconcile with those who wronged you or tell the wrongdoer that you’ve forgiven them. It does not mean that the wrongdoer has to apologize to you, that you have to condone the behavior of the wrongdoer, or that you don’t seek justice for the wrongdoing. You do not have to speak to or see the wrongdoer again and it is your right and responsibility to seek justice through the proper channels.
Forgiveness means many things to many people. There are different ways to bring forgiveness into your own life. You may choose a religious, spiritual, scientific, or agnostic process. There is no right or wrong way to forgive. It’s only important that you do so and to practice it frequently. However you choose to go through the process, there are 3 definite benefits to forgiving.
1.You stop reliving and reacting to the wrongdoing over and over and you allow yourself to move forward with your life. Forgiveness allows you to put your energy into more productive and supportive emotions and behaviors.
2. It gives you back your power instead of letting the wrongdoer keep having power over you. When you can let go of the negative emotions associated with the wrongdoing and decide to focus on how it made you stronger and what you learned, you empower yourself.
3. Most importantly, you let go of your need to feel like a victim and you take responsibility for creating your own happiness and achievements. You no longer hold on to excuses that stop you from working towards your goals. You focus on the possibilities and on getting the results you want.
Dr Fred Luskin said that “a life well lived is your best revenge.” It’s good to include forgiveness when focusing on the goals you’ve set for yourself, not only in the New Year but at all times throughout your life. Consider this – would you rather use that energy to calm, center, and balance yourself or to hold on to that grudge with all your might?
Take charge of your own life and forgive for yourbenefit, not anyone else’s.
VividLife.me Contributor
Kasia Rachfall, Fresh Perspective Coach, is a Master Practitioner of NLP, Time Empowerment Techniques®, and Hypnosis and a Certified Professional Coach. Kasia brings extensive expertise and passion to personal growth and development. She is devoted to enabling people to break through their mental and emotional barriers so that they are motivated from the inside out. She believes that people do their best when they live and act from a place of personal strength and clarity, and that it is absolutely possible to release what’s holding a person back from putting themselves back on top of their priority list. Go to http://www.freshperspectivecoach.com to learn more about giving up your excuses and getting your results.