At age 82 I realize that practicing self forgiveness, compassion and humor toward myself has made my life more peaceful. Instead of focusing on beating myself up it leaved me open to be grateful for all the beauty in my life. Although I still kick myself in the ass when I forget why I came into this room, only to remember when I’m halfway back to the kitchen.
Marianne, what a great way to start: give grace to others and in so doing, realize you owe yourself the same. I'm going to remember that the next time I feel a self-criticism coming on.
Thank you for this. Another terrific post. I've actually been planning / plotting to write about a similar topic, and as you mention at the top -- I've been beating myself up about not getting to it. Ironic, isn't it? Not 'forgiving yourself' for not writing & posting about 'forgiving yourself' on the schedule you expect of yourself!
Reading this was the prompt I needed. I hope my future post on the topic will be as helpful as yours, and offer a unique take with some complimentary insights, as well.
Casey, I'm glad you found it helpful. And yes, the irony of being too hard on myself for not writing a post about self forgiveness quickly enough is not lost on me! #irony
Do you think those of us in Gen X have an especially hard time with this? Sometimes I’ve wondered if our punk ethos can obscure some of the softer virtues.
Timothy, good question. I don’t know. If I had to guess, I would say that boomers to Gen Z probably lie sequentially on a plot line from least likely to self-forgive to most likely. Of course, that would be a gross generalization, not a statement about any one person. But it would make a fascinating scientific study, wouldn’t it?
At age 82 I realize that practicing self forgiveness, compassion and humor toward myself has made my life more peaceful. Instead of focusing on beating myself up it leaved me open to be grateful for all the beauty in my life. Although I still kick myself in the ass when I forget why I came into this room, only to remember when I’m halfway back to the kitchen.
Signed, Paul’s Mom
Love you, mom!
Also, "leaved"?
My mistake, but I forgive myself.
It took me practicing giving grace to others to realize that I deserved the same from myself.
Marianne, what a great way to start: give grace to others and in so doing, realize you owe yourself the same. I'm going to remember that the next time I feel a self-criticism coming on.
Thank you for this. Another terrific post. I've actually been planning / plotting to write about a similar topic, and as you mention at the top -- I've been beating myself up about not getting to it. Ironic, isn't it? Not 'forgiving yourself' for not writing & posting about 'forgiving yourself' on the schedule you expect of yourself!
Reading this was the prompt I needed. I hope my future post on the topic will be as helpful as yours, and offer a unique take with some complimentary insights, as well.
Cheers, and thanks again.
Casey, I'm glad you found it helpful. And yes, the irony of being too hard on myself for not writing a post about self forgiveness quickly enough is not lost on me! #irony
⚡️We’re so good at chasing the external stuff—fitness goals, career wins, financial milestones.
But the real ninja move? Turning inward.Self-care.
Self-forgiveness. Compassion. It’s not soft. It’s not selfish. It’s legit. And yeah—it’s hard. But it’s where the real growth happens.
Heidi, self forgiveness is not soft, you are so right. And yet it's something that isn't taught and almost never mentioned in our culture.
Great post! I am a lover of mottos. Two that seem to fit here are:
"It's none of your business what other people think of you"
"Don't believe everything you think"
Geoffrey, good mottos. Keeping your own counsel is a good habit, sometimes.
Bravo! Forgiveness isn’t hard because we don’t want to forgive. It’s that we can’t bear the brilliance of who we become when we do. 💡
Bravo back at you, Marcella.
It takes courage to be happy, you know. 💪🏼
I'm not sure I was aware of that. But I am now. Thank you.
Do you think those of us in Gen X have an especially hard time with this? Sometimes I’ve wondered if our punk ethos can obscure some of the softer virtues.
Timothy, good question. I don’t know. If I had to guess, I would say that boomers to Gen Z probably lie sequentially on a plot line from least likely to self-forgive to most likely. Of course, that would be a gross generalization, not a statement about any one person. But it would make a fascinating scientific study, wouldn’t it?