Unless you deal with your guilt, you cannot have a moment of peace.
It is because, the impact of your guilt often leaves you feeling miserable and dejected that you are not good enough. When you feel guilty, it robs your mental peace in a telling manner. You often curse yourself, for being callous and heartless to have inflicted wrong on someone.
Do you know that you are not the only one who have to deal with your guilt?
Almost everyone has some sort of a guilty conscience. Everyone commits mistakes and feel guilty about it. You commit mistakes, as you are very human, and so prone to faults. Though you cannot justify the wrong you do, there are times you act unintentionally, without knowing the repercussions it has on someone’s life.
It is true that you must feel sorry for the wrong you have done. But when you torment yourself because of your guilt, it makes your life very depressing and torturous. Unless you are able to forgive yourself, you will not have a moment of peace.
When you wilt under the pressure of your guilt, it takes a toll of your happiness. Understand the simple fact, that every one of us commit some sort of a mistake, which directly or indirectly hurts someone. It is because it is very human to err. But it is very inhuman not to repent. When you repent about the mistake what you have done, you are almost forgiven.
Shall we now glimpse at the types of guilt you commonly face in your life
You commit many mistakes in your day-to-day life. Some of your mistakes are mild, and so the guilt you feel goes away within days. Lying to save your face is a simple mistake you often commit, and you deal with your guilt for lying only for a few days.
There are times you make some serious mistakes, which make you feel guilty for years. Cheating people off their money, dishonesty, fraudulence and deceit can be included in this group. But certain guilt is heinous and will never be forgiven. This sort of your guilt will accompany you to your grave. Murder, terrorizing people by spraying their blood, all fall into this pool.
Why do you commit mistakes, even when knowing that it will make you guilt ridden?
Your mind is a thought inducing machine, and you act according to the thoughts stored into it. When your mind does not know what is right and wrong, you commit mistakes. When you are deaf to the warning sounds of your conscience, you commit mistakes without realizing that you will have to deal with your guilt.
What are the side effects of your guilt?
You break down in agony, as you keep thinking about the mistake you have committed. Your guilt becomes even more severe, if the wrong you did affects someone personally.
“How could I have committed such a blunder?” You deal with your guilt, as you mind rages in agony over the wrong done by you.
Your feeling of guilt is a sure sign that you are person with conscience. When you feel guilty, the best curing medicine is asking forgiveness from the concerned person, so that it relieves you from your guilt feeling.
Asking forgiveness, is the best form to deal with your guilt. But one word of caution. You might have committed something wrong, and you did right by asking forgiveness. After asking forgiveness, you should not be harping on your guilty feeling. If your mind keeps remembering your guilt, you will only lose your inner peace.
The best way to deal with your guilt is to forgive yourself
You are very human to falter and commit mistakes. But unless you forgive yourself, you will feel that you are worthless and valueless. If this feeling gets embedded in your mind, you whole life will turn depressive and gloomy to you.
After asking forgiveness, you must vow never to make the mistake, ever again in your life. Do not demean yourself for your guilt, anytime in your life. You know every nook and corner of your character, and you know whether the wrong you did was impulsive, or deliberately pre-planned.
If the mistake you committed was a deliberate planning with the intention to hurt someone, you deserve your guilt feeling. But if your mistake was unintentional and the result of a momentary weakness of thought or action, you can forgive yourself.
Instead of plunging into guilt, it will do you a world of good if you pledge never to do wrong, ever again in your life. When you do so, you can easily deal with your guilt.
Do not commit these mistakes that induce guilt feelings in you.
- You lie to your spouse.
- You lie in your work place.
- You lie to your friends\relatives\colleagues.
These lies provides your instant escape from certain unwanted situations. If your lies are to protect you, and does not in any way hurt others, you need not feel bad that you have done something wrong.
When you are unable to keep up your promises, you feel guilty at the disappointment you create in your spouse\friend\colleague. This is the reason, that you should never promise something which you will not be able to keep up. Understand the simple fact, that your fleeting promises makes the other person build trust that you will do what you promised to do. When you do not fulfill your promise, it makes the concerned person disappointed ,and in turn it makes you feel guilty.
Always think twice before making any promise to anyone. If at all you promise something, make sure you make good your word.
Never be disloyal to the company you work for. If you make the mistake of sharing company secrets with another competitive company, you will be compelled to deal with guilt and regret.
When your cheating is traced to you, you will lose your trust, not only in your company, but in your work field. You will be thrust aside, as a person who will dare to betray his own company. You will have to deal with your guilt for a long, long time.
CONCLUSION
“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.” – H. L Mencken
It takes years to build your credibility, but takes just seconds to lose it. Never do anything that will make you feel guilt ridden. Make your intentions good and your motive honest. When do so, you will not commit mistakes that you will make you guilty and remorseful.
A guilt free mind is the best sleeping pill you can hope for. Do not pledge your conscience for some quick success. When your conscience is clear, you will be gifted with the best possible prize your life drastically needs – your inner-peace.
Mathi Surendran is passionate in writing about relationships and life. She is also the founder of the relationship blog