Forgiveness is one of those things that is so simple, yet so hard at the same time. We hang on so much to the bad aspects of something that we forget to recognize the good. Yes, it can be hard, but we need to forgive in order to make not just our lives better, but in turn the world a much better and more peaceful place. There are plenty of people we should forgive, but here are five key people that we need to forgive.

1. Parents

You might get mad at them from time to time, but at the end of the day, they are some of the most important people in your life. There a lot of people who might do you wrong, but your parents are the ones who will always be there for you no matter what. You may feel like they aren't being fair about something, but they really are just trying to do what they think is best for you. You also need to realize that they are learning how to be parents every day. Our society and yourself are constantly changing and your parents are just trying to catch up. Give them a break and don't ever let them out of your life.

2. Ex-boyfriends/girlfriends

This one can always be hard to forgive, but it's something that needs to be done. Whether it was you that broke up with them or them who broke up with you, it makes no difference. Although things didn't work out, at one point they made you so happy. Especially if it was your first love, they taught you how to love and all of the other things you need to know about to have a healthy relationship. Yes, it didn't work out, but all that means is that it just wasn't meant to be and that neither of you are at fault. Just because it didn't work out with them doesn't mean that you need to resent them and never speak to them. You need to learn how to be civil with them or even become friends with them again. But most importantly, you need to be happy for them when something good happens to them rather than hoping for negative outcomes.

3. Ex-best friends

Sometimes this one can be even harder than forgiving the ex-boyfriend/girlfriend because this one you really didn't see coming. I mean there's even a saying that says you may not always be with that boyfriend/girlfriend, but best friends are forever. Unfortunately, it's possible to lose a best friend. No matter what happened, you need to forgive them because you shouldn't let silly arguments from the past end your friendship. At the time, these arguments seemed unforgivable, but when you look back now they may not be that way. I'm not saying you should become best friends again right away, but you should be able to let them come back into your life. They were a best friend for a reason.

4. Anyone you feel has done you wrong

This can be a large variety of people because you don't have to be close to a person in order to forgive them. This can go from someone who spread a rumor about you, a hard professor that gave you a bad grade or a person who beat you in a sporting event. We have this negative mindset that when someone does you wrong, even in the smallest way, we automatically have a disliking toward them. We should not have all this negativity and rather should bring about positivity. That person who spread a rumor about you might have insecurity issues and although it was wrong, it made them feel better. The tough professor who gave you a bad grade was just doing their job and they are pushing you to try harder because they know you're capable of doing more. And lastly, just because someone beat you in something doesn't mean you should dislike them now. You should congratulate them and strive to do better next time. Stop bringing about these negative outlooks on life.

5. Yourself

This is one is hardest to forgive. We are so nit-picky about ourselves that we tend to always bash on ourselves for even the simplest things. Especially in today's society, we feel this need to be a certain type of person or do a certain type of thing in order to fit with society. But honestly, the best version of yourself is when you truly are being yourself. So stop apologizing for being who you are because there is nothing wrong with that. Along those lines, you need to forgive yourself for all the things you think are wrong about you or what you did. Nobody is perfect. Life is about making mistakes, learning from them and moving on. Stop bringing about such a negative view of yourself and start loving yourself and who you are.

If you look at our world today, there are a lot of good things about it, but also some negative things. The negative has a lot to do with people not forgiving each other. For example, there probably wouldn't be so much war if we would just learn to forgive and correct our mistakes. People go on in this world not having the guts or effort to forgive each other, but our world could be so different if we'd just learn to forgive and forget. Just by starting to forgive people or yourself for the little things can make a huge impact. Let's stop letting all of this negativity surround us and rather bring about positivity and forgiveness.