5 Tips to Forgive Instead of Letting Anger Control Your Life

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
I made it my New Year’s resolution to forgive someone for his past actions. Unfortunately, the person I forgave is not here to know.

1. Take time to make your forgiveness real and meaningful.

Did you every hear people say, “You have to forgive her!” or “Forgive him right now!”? Well, anyone can just say they forgive someone, but it takes time to actually move forward and truly forgive. Don’t let a person force you into forgiving someone before you’ve worked through your feelings, because it would lead to an empty forgiveness and not something that is true.

2. Meditate.

This is extremely important because it is so easy to get caught up in emotions when there is so much extra chatter or other influences. When you meditate, you are at one with your emotions in a quiet atmosphere. During meditation, I learn more about my needs and myself, and it constantly helps me grow as a person.

3. Write down your emotions and then release them.

Sometimes it’s hard to realize what upsets you. Is it because she said this? Or because her actions made you feel bad? Writing down your thoughts help you better understand your feelings. After I do this, I like to go outside and burn the paper. It feels therapeutic to watch something that hurt you disintegrate into little ashes.

4. Instead of focusing on how someone else hurt you, focus on how your actions affect others.

When I was dealing with these issues, I was not an easy person to be around. I spent too much time focusing on someone and something that I could do nothing about instead of focusing on the good and peaceful relationships in my life. When I realized how I was treating my loved ones, it made me want to forgive the person who hurt me. I deserved that peace, and so did my friends and family.

5. Strive to live in the present.

This is the hardest thing to do. Especially now with the Internet and a fast-paced life, so many of us are multi-tasking, thinking of our next assignment before we finish with the one we are currently doing. By always thinking of tomorrow, we are losing today. The same goes for living in the past. If you let your past define you, you will never grow.
Through all the pain and the heartache I went through for 24 years of my life, I finally feel at peace. I think the best thing I ever did was forgive my father because it let me grow as a person and focus on all the wonderful people and things in my life.
I also have to thank my dad because he gave me this amazing life to live, taught me many valuable lessons, and showed me how strong I truly am.
Who do you need to forgive, and can you start doing the work today?