Giving Yourself the Gift of Forgiveness

Sections of this topic

    Copyright Carter
    McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC

    Sections on This Topic Include

    What is Forgiveness?

    Benefits and Examples of Forgiveness

    Test – How Well Do You Forgive?

    How to Practice Forgiveness in Your Life

    Also, consider
    Related Library Topics


    What is Forgiveness?

    “Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate
    the decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group
    who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.”
    Fred Luskin in this article:
    What
    is Forgiveness?
    The Nature
    of Forgiveness
    Forgiveness:
    Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness
    Which
    Feels Better, Forgiveness or Revenge?
    Forgiveness (Wikipedia)
    To
    Forgive Doesn’t Automatically Mean To Reconcile
    Forgiveness:
    It’s Not What You Think
    Questions About
    Forgiveness: Does It Mean We Have to Stay Friends?
    Forgiveness
    Is Not a Feeling

    Benefits and Examples of Forgiveness

    The benefits of forgiveness are many as the following articles explain.

    Stories Have the Power to
    Transform
    5
    Astonishing Real Examples of Forgiveness
    10
    Extraordinary Examples Of Forgiveness
    25
    Unbelievable And Inspiring Acts Of Forgiveness

    Test – How Well Do You Forgive?

    Take this quiz and see how well you forgive.
    Forgiveness
    Quiz

    The following topic includes articles about how to forgive.

    How to Practice Forgiveness in Your
    Life

    One of the best strategies for forgiveness is to focus on your own self-development
    that will decrease your focus on the other person or group that you believe
    had offended or hurt you. Instead, you will focus on what you can control —
    yourself. See:

    Appreciating
    — to see the value in others, including that they sometimes make mistakes.

    Emotional
    Intelligence
    — to sense when you are feeling resentment or obsessing about
    what happened to you.

    Improving Yourself — this
    is a link to many resources about developing yourself.

    Mindfulness
    — to learn to stay in the present, rather than ruminating about what happened
    to you.

    Self-Confidence
    — to have the courage to approach the other person or group, explain what you
    believe they did to you, say you forgive them and why.

    Vulnerability
    — approaching the other(s) can expose you to how they will react — you will
    feel vulnerable.

    Also consider:

    How
    Do You Forgive Even When It Feels Impossible? (Part 1)
    5 Strategies
    for Discovering How to Forgive
    How
    to Forgive When It’s Difficult
    Why
    You Don’t “Need” or “Have To” Forgive Anyone If
    You Don’t Want or Feel Ready To
    How to Learn to Trust Again

    Also consider
    Self-Assessments
    (numerous self-assessments)

    Goals
    – Setting Personal Goals

    Changing
    Your Behavior

    Basic
    Requirements of Learners in Training and Development

    Learning
    Style Inventory

    Personal
    Productivity

    Personal Wellness
    Reading
    Skills

    General Resources

    Research
    in Critical Thinking
    Critical
    Thinking: Basic Questions & Answers
    Measure
    What Matters: Critical Thinking


    Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Development

    In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs
    that have posts related to Personal Development. Scan down the blog’s page to
    see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the
    sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in
    the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

    Library’s
    Career Management Blog
    Sp rituality in
    the Workplace


    For the Category of Personal Development:

    To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
    want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
    Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

    Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
    selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

    Related Library Topics

    Recommended Books