Why do so many of us struggle with guilt, and how do we move away from that and into a more positive space within ourselves?
From childhood, through most of my adult life I have struggled with guilt. Over the past two years, I have finally moved away from guilt and have become a better version of myself. But, it took realizing I had an issue, choosing to recognize it each time it popped up in my thoughts, and choosing to no longer give it my energy. Does it try to sneak back in at times? Of course it does. However, I can say choosing not to beat myself up with guilt has made a tremendous difference in my life.
If you are someone who often struggles with guilt, my guess is it is over the most minuet things. With this comes a great deal of second-guessing yourself and questioning your past choices. Words like "I should have done blank," "I shouldn't have said blank" pop up over and over. This constant judgmental self-talk can really take a toll on your day to day frame of mind.
Guilt can stem from several different things. It can be from not accepting your own mistakes, feeling responsible for not meeting others or your own expectations, or even an unresolved problem. However, all of those things you are feeling guilty about are in the past. There is no reason to continue focusing on them or to continuously "should" and "shouldn't" yourself.
So how do you move on? First, choose to forgive yourself and others and let go of the guilt. Second, stop magnifying your thoughts and making them more significant than they are. Choose to stop beating yourself up about things and change your negative self-talk into positive self-talk. Be aware of your thoughts and if they tip to the negative side, quickly stop and think about something positive instead. Remember, you are the one in control of your thoughts. You can change them at any time. Once you become aware of that and start redirecting your thoughts, you will be surprised how much power you have over YOU.
Carrying around guilt is a choice. Choosing to put in a little effort towards removing it from your life will make a big difference. Be the best YOU that you can be, and that means letting the guilt go.
