Remedy Feelings of Guilt
Warranted feelings of guilt can be a productive guide to finding peace
Well-founded feelings of guilt are good.
I’m not suggesting that living in a state of guilt brings peace. It doesn’t. When warranted, however, feelings of guilt can act as a guide to let us know we need to take care of a misdeed or change something about ourselves.
If you’ve done something wrong, own it. Take the necessary steps to make it right.
If there are tasks left undone that are gnawing at you, make a plan to complete them. Then execute it.
Guilt is relatively easily eradicated with recognition of the reason for the guilt and actions to reconnect whatever has been disconnected.
Handled quickly upon recognition, guilt keeps us on track. Left to linger, it turns to shame, which is counter-productive and destroys peace.
When we see guilt as a helpful communication channel from our conscience, we self-govern and keep small problems from becoming big, derailing issues.
You may also like:
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
I tend to live feeling guilty about so many things. When she broke up with me, at age 14, my first love said that one of the things that she didn't like about me was that I was constantly saying "I'm sorry". I had a discussion with some of my children just yesterday, because I was feeling guilty about something that they said I shouldn't feel guilty about. This is very good advice Bryan, but difficult for some of us to implement.
I love this perspective. Most people would say guilt is counterproductive and an enemy to self-esteem. I agree that dwelling on guilt is wrong. If used as an indicator where improvement can be made, coupled with a plan to ameliorate the issue, guilt then becomes a positive influence for change.