Can I Forgive Myself

Can I, Will I, Ever Forgive Myself?

Yikes! It’s tough to forgive yourself. Your family and friends would never forgive you if they knew half of what you do. Unfortunately, you know the whole. And the sheer awfulness of it rocks you with guilt and sinks you with shame. God may forgive you. But how on earth are you ever going to forgive yourself? – Ellen Michaud. Prevention. November 3, 2011.

Let It Go
Let It Go

Psychologist Fred Luskin, PhD, director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project tells us how we can forgive ourselves.
The Healing Power of Forgiveness.
Dr Luskin tells us, “Forgiveness is a tool with which we face what we’ve done in the past, acknowledge our mistakes, and move on. It does not mean that you condone or excuse what happened. It does not mean that you forget.”

Dr Luskin’s Twelve Steps to Self-Forgiveness:
1. Categorize the offense.

2. Know how you feel.

3. Understand what you want.

4. Recognize unrealistic expectations.

5. Identify the hurt.

6. Hit the stop button.

7. Sorry!

8. Practice PERT Positive Emotion Refocusing Technique.

9. Make it right – make amends.

10. Lose the Wicked Witch thing. – Be a Hero.

11. Put things in perspective.

12. Give yourself a break! – Replace Guilt with Gratitude.

My Next Task is to Reconnect.

Prayer for Forgiveness – Psalm 51.
Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me. Do not banish me from your presence, do not take your holy spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach sinners your commands, and they will turn back to you. Amen.  – Psalm 51: 10-13.

Forgiveness. Michael West.

It’s the hardest thing to give away and the last thing on your mind today. It always goes to those that don’t deserve. It’s the opposite of how you feel. When the pain they caused is just too real, It takes everything you have just to say the word … Forgiveness.

Prayer: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph. 4:32.