Today, instead of ending with a quote, I wanted to start with one. (“When you forgive, you in no way change the past, but you sure do change the future.” Bernard Meltzer) How much better would life be if we could all get better at forgiving, not just other people but ourselves as well? The truth of the matter is, a lot of times we are just having a bad day, and one bad day could turn into being misjudged by our actions or words.

The point I’m making is, be it your own mistake or someone else’s, what is done is done, and you may as well move on. Time sure will tell whether we want it to or not. At work, someone simply having a bad day could rub you the wrong way, or maybe a few bad first impressions, but don’t let anyone or yourself hold you down forever. Let it go. It feels good to walk into a room or past someone and not have any negative thoughts or feelings about them. We are less stressed when we are feeling good about ourselves and others.

Not forgiving can affect so many things, like our health, emotional state, and, really, our lives. Forgiving makes you strong. You are more able to tolerate or handle difficult times and difficult people. We don’t stress as quickly or hover over pain or regret. The most important thing is that forgiveness is something you own. We own our own forgiveness and the forgiveness that is due to others. It is a choice to allow those types of strongholds, so let it go! (“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” Lewis B. Smedes)