Forgiveness, An Attribute of the Strong
Do you know why there is so much strife, unrest, hatred, animosity and enmity between people, nations, races and castes leading to civil wars and fight between nations? It is the inability to forget the past, forgive the mistakes or shortcomings of each other and spread the message of love. There is a belief that you will be perceived weak if you forgive others or forget the mistakes and wrongdoings of others. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Religion, psychology, philosophy and management have all highlighted the benefits you can attain by having a forgiving attitude.
Here are a few reasons why you should forgive and forget the bad experiences of your life.
1. Nourishing Hatred Reduces Your Peace of Mind
When you are hurt by someone or have a bad experience, you could express your displeasure or anger but the moment they apologize, we must forgive them wholeheartedly. If you nourish hatred or resentment, you become stressful and restless.
2. Forgiveness has Health Benefits too
Medical research has found that having a forgiving attitude can help you get rid of many body ailments and remain healthy. It lowers your blood pressure, back pain, headache and indigestion problems in your stomach.
3. Inability to Forgive is a Sign of Weakness and Lack of Confidence
Psychologists have pointed out that feelings of insecurity and lack of confidence and sympathy for others can cause prolonged stress in you. You should not allow another person to have control over every moment of your life. It is the act of the person you don’t approve and not the person as a whole.
4. Prioritize Things in Your Life
When anger or hatred against someone occupies your mind most of the time, you lose your concentration or focus on important things in life – it could be your career, spending quality time with family members and your ability to cultivate new friends and influence people.
5. Forgive and Restore Relationships
Friends, family members, colleagues and acquaintances are all important in our lives, not only for helping each other out but also for the need to communicate and share feelings. We are not on any island and don’t live in isolation. It’s togetherness that provides happiness and joy to our lives.
6. Learn to Forget and Move on
If a friend or a colleague has hurt you, there is no point complaining about it if they persist with that behavior. It is better to forget and move on with your life. There are several other people with whom you can cultivate new relationships.
7. Forgiveness can’t be Learnt, Develop Gratitude
Scientists from the world of medicine have pointed out that like love, forgiveness can’t be learnt or forced into you. It comes as a part of your personality trait when you develop a positive attitude. Have gratitude for all the good things that have happened and slowly that makes a transformation in your character.
8. Don’t be the Victim, Be a Survivor
When somebody has wronged you or you have suffered a bad experience, don’t continue to be a victim all your life. Think of yourself as a survivor who came out unscathed from it. Forgiving attitude helps you emerge stronger.
Forgiveness can be developed by prayer, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, cultivating new relationships, having sympathy, empathy and by using your skills to make a positive change in the other person’s life. As the Bible says, "When you forgive others, you create an atmosphere for others to forgive you for your mistakes or lapses".
