Start by Forgiving Yourself
How do you ask for forgiveness? Learning to say “I’m sorry” is powerful—it helps release the hurt and make space for healing. A person who practices forgiveness can let go of guilt and emotional pain. But the first step? Acknowledging your mistakes.
We all stumble. We all mess up. These mistakes aren’t failures—they’re life’s way of teaching us valuable lessons. Often, the hardest person to forgive is yourself. But being human means making mistakes. And learning to be kind to yourself is part of growing up.
Understanding Forgiveness
Conflicts are part of life. The sooner you learn to forgive yourself, the quicker you begin to heal. Without self-forgiveness, you may carry emotional baggage that becomes heavy over time. Holding on to hurt often leads to sadness, and if left unaddressed, that sadness can evolve into depression.
One of the best ways to begin healing is by learning to forgive others as well. It can be as simple as saying, “I’m sorry.”
Don’t bottle things up. Like author Jenny O’Connell said:
“Hiding how you feel and trying to make everyone happy doesn’t make you nice, it just makes you a liar.”
Life Lessons in Forgiveness
1. Make Positive Changes
Talk to a therapist, a parent, or a trusted friend. It’s okay to feel bad sometimes, but don’t let self-pity take root. Replaying your regrets like a broken record won’t help—it only deepens the emotional wound.
Let go.
Move forward.
Start fresh.
Books like Black Pearls by Eric V. Copage or uplifting quotes from Goodreads can help shift your mindset each day.
2. Learn From Mistakes
Everyone messes up—yes, even adults. Being a teen doesn’t make failure hurt any less, but you can be gentle with yourself. Think of your mistakes as stepping stones, not roadblocks.
3. Apologize & Rebuild
An apology doesn’t make you weak—it shows maturity. Letting go of pain is good for your mental health. If you’ve hurt someone, take real steps to make it right. Sometimes, words aren’t enough—your actions need to reflect your remorse and care.
4. Laugh More
Life feels lighter when you learn to laugh—even at yourself. Characters like Garfield and Beast Boy use humor to cope with mistakes and pain. Laughter is a powerful stress reliever. So find what makes you smile. Forgiveness becomes easier when your heart is light.
In the End… Let Go
Forgiveness is not just about others—it’s about you. Learning to forgive is a vital life skill that promotes emotional well-being, healthier relationships, and personal growth.
How do you forgive yourself?
Leave a comment and share your story. You never know who you might inspire.
I am definitely guilty of beating myself up when I feel bad about something I did. Thank you for the tips 🙂
Very thought provoking. It can be difficult to truly reflect on your inner feelings, but it is necessary, I think, to be emotionally healthy.
It is never as easy as it sounds to do so, but we are all imperfect and we will all make mistakes we are all human and we need to cut ourselves slack sometimes.
Jeanette, Yes,To forgive someone who has hurt you is a hard pill to swallow. But you must first try to forgive yourself to move on and heal only then we can forgive others.
These are great points. You really do have to learn from mistakes instead of beating yourself up over them. That’s not healthy!
Forgiveness is not easy to give to people, but when you finally do it also feels like you’re setting yourself free from the burden of hate. Apologies aren’t easy to give as well, but you have to learn how to do it.
Elizabeth O, When we learn to forgive ourselves in time we will learn to forgive others.
Forgiving ourselves can be difficult because our actions affect us the most but it is crucial for moving forward. talking is a great way to work through things
I agree we do have to learn to forgive ourselves. It can be really hard, but if we hold onto things we tend to let them build up and they become toxic in our lives.
Heather, We don’t want to let it build up so its best to forgive. I know it hard for a lot of people including me.
An apology is hard so you are a strong person. I tell my boys to make it right.
Forgiving oneself can be difficult especially if you have hurt other people. Thanks for this timely reminder.
Maureen, This is where you ask the person for your forgiveness this may not be easy. They may not ready to forgive you. Its important for you to forgive yourself with time you will heal.
What’s done is done and there is nothing we can do about it. Learn from whatever it is and keep it moving
Marlene Carr, There are lessons in everything we do although we may not want to see the writing on the wall history still find away to bring it back to teach us.
So true I have a lot of things that I am not proud of but dwelling on it is not going to help me move forward. So I laugh and smile because I would rather enjoy life than be sad.
Ana De-Jesus, What a wonderful concept why dwell on things we cannot change. Moving forward require us to let go of the hurt, people, pain that hold us down and sometime our sense of humor is our only lifesaver.
This is one of the hardest lessons in life. Why is it easier to forgive others than ourselves?!
Rachel, It’s a question that is difficult to answer. Can only say we tend to be harder on ourselves maybe this is why. Once we get passed our harsh judgment of ourselves forgiven becomes easier.
forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t knew before you learned it.
Sometimes, we’re just too hard on ourselves when we make mistakes, but it’s always from those failures that we learn in life. They will make us stronger and better persons.
I think I’ve definitely gotten better and moving on and not beating myself up too much over things. I’ve been a perfectionist my whole life, so it’s hard not to blame myself.
Stephanie, Perfectionist seems to have a harder time forgive self. Glad you are moving forward and thanks for your support.
This is a lesson that I learned sometime ago and have never forgotten it.
I get too hard on myself when I make mistakes. It’s maybe because I knew I would have done better.
You are so right! A very valuable lesson one should focus on for themselves and if they are a parent their children to learn to say I am sorry, It goes a long way
Ellen, How to forgive self is a lesson that most people need to work on. When you learn forgiveness you begin to see how happier you feel…Don’t hold on to baggage It affects everyone around you including your kids.
Forgiving someone who has wronged you is freeing!
It’s not easy but i think its the best way to do if you want to move forward
Everyone makes mistakes, it’s part of being human. None of us would ever learn anything if we didn’t make mistakes.
Learn our lesson in every mistake that we’ve been done. Saying Sorry won’t harm us it makes us better. When we start to forgive our self this is also the right time to forgive others.
Great post. There are many things I regret, but now I know so I can do better going forward. I refuse to make the same mistakes over and over. 🙂
I’m all abou saying sorry. Even if you aren’t fully sorry I feel
It’s best to just move on with things. No reason to hold on to negative feelings.
Forgiving ourselves is key to moving forward. I’m currently getting my master’s in counseling and helping people to forgive themselves is something that is so important for so many people.
Allison Jones, Congrats, and you’re understanding of how to forgive yourself will help with counseling others.
Great post! I love how you mentioned that saying your sorry does not make you weak. I think a lot of people make this mistake. We have to be humble and realize when we are wrong.
This is great advice on how to forgive yourself, thanks for sharing! I love how you said that it’s ok to feel sorry for yourself but not dwell on it and how an apology doesn’t make you weak. Couldn’t agree more!
Finding a trusted friend, someone who loves and accepts us no matter what, can make all the difference in the world.
I think forgiving ourselves is very important, because if you can’t forgive yourself how about the others? right. I agree with this.
Great advice, I’ve certainly beat myself up over things in life. I just needed to forgive myself and move on.
Mimi “MimiCuteLips” Green, It’s a habit to beat our self up at times its a journey for me too.
Forgiving yourself is so key. I think that is the real issue that many people face because we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Great insights.
We are our own worst critics, and we tend to beat ourselves up over and over again. Forgiving ourselves is just as important as forgiving others. But it will allow the healing process to begin once we do.
Christine, When we can forgive ourselves forgive others come easy thanks for stopping by.
We tend to be our own worst enemy and ally. I’ve learn to cry a little then get over it and move forward.