Why We Should Forgive Others

If someone has wronged you it can be very hard for you to forgive them. Though we have a right to be angry with another person for doing wrong to us, I am going to tell you why it is important to forgive others. Being angry causes us to carry around a lot of extra weight on our shoulders and in our hearts. By keeping anger bottled up and not forgiving you are preventing yourself the opportunity to have a better life.

You may think it is hard to forgive others when you are hurt, but realize that it is actually easier than being angry. A whole lot easier. Below are some tips that will help you understand why it is best to forgive others and how it can benefit your life.

• The first thing I want you to understand is that forgiving is mainly for our sake, not for the person who has wronged us. Just because we forgive a person, by no means does it mean we have to continue a relationship with this person whether platonic or romantic. Forgiving them just means that what they have done to you is no longer going to control you. You are letting it go and moving on. You are not allowing their actions to impact your life in a negative way. Forgiving is a way to clear the mind and the soul. It allows you to wipe the slate clean and gives your mind the peace to do and concentrate on the things that are important.
• If you do not forgive then you are allowing that person to have control over you. Without forgiving, they are guiding your feelings, your thoughts and your emotions. But once you forgive them, they lose that power and that control. You get your power back and are once again in control of your own emotions and thoughts.
• Having unresolved issues with forgiveness brings added stress to our lives. Think about how much you think about a situation when someone has done you wrong. Especially if you were pretty close to the person. You will spend a lot of time trying to figure out why they wronged you or why they did what they did. Continually obsessing over a bad situation will bring you stress. By forgiving that person you are lifting that stress off your shoulders giving yourself the opportunity to use your time and energy to think about positive things and allowing yourself to enjoy the things in life that you love.
• It is sad to say but some people thrive on negative attention. If you run across this type of person, forgive them right away. Do not waste your time or energy on that negativity. If you do not forgive them right away, they are going to continue with their behavior because getting a rise out of you is what they want. It would not be fun for them and they would not get the attention that they crave if you were to just forgive them and move on and disassociate yourself from that person.
• When another person wrongs you, it does not necessarily mean that the relationship should end. People make mistakes and sometimes being able to forgive another person will benefit both of you. Remember that we are not perfect and though you may be hurt, there are some people who genuinely feel bad about what they have done and do deserve another chance. Only you can decide if that is the case.
• There are times when a person can hurt you and not even care if you forgive them or not. If you allow this type of person to get under your skin then you are wasting a lot of your valuable happiness. Do not let yourself fall into the state of mind wondering why they do not care. Forgive and move on. It would be the best thing to do, because in reality if they do not care to begin with, they will not care later on.

Forgiving heals us. It brings us the peace we crave and deserve. It allows us to stand up and to be the bigger person. Allow yourself to be healed. Allow yourself to be happy and stress free. Control your own emotions and be in charge of yourself. Do not let other's bring you down by holding on to something someone else has done to you. You are in control of your own life. You can move on and forgive. You will be much happier if you do.

What we all want in life is to be happy and healthy. Forgiving others gets us one step closer to that goal. Remember forgiving others is for our benefit. It allows us to concentrate on the things in life that are important and that makes us happy. Why spend all that time on the negative things? It will bring our moods down and make our hearts heavy. Being hurt sucks but we are all strong and we will get through whatever it may be. Forgiving others brings us peace. With peace comes a clear mind and a light spirit.

So whatever you are holding on to, let it go. Forgive that person. You will feel 1000 lbs lift off of your chest. It will feel good I promise!