Forgiveness is one of the most difficult tasks in the world. It takes a great deal of strength to willingly let go of the pain when someone has hurt you for a second chance at something better. You let go of the pain in the hopes that something better will arise from another try. I've spent years trying to forgive others.

I forgive the individuals who tried to put me down in life.

I forgive the people who set me back on purpose with the intent to further their success.

I forgive those who have broken my heart.

Those who have made me cry,

Made me angry.

Left me behind.

I forgive others for the things that have done to me in the hopes of expelling negativity from my life, with the understanding that they are humans and humans make mistakes.

Forgiving others gave me strength and taught me resilience. Forgiving others fostered a sense of compassion and kindness within my soul. Yet no matter how much I forgave the people around me, I was left with an inexplicable feeling of injustice and frustration. I felt confused, angry, lost, and stuck. Then, one day, it hit me. I forgave others for the mistakes they made towards me, but I was unable to comprehend how I let their mistakes impact me.

They hurt me, but I should have been stronger. I should have been more careful, more assertive, less sensitive, less impacted by their actions. I controlled the way that I felt and reacted, so how did I allow other people to have the ability to hurt me? I learned to forgive others all while harboring feelings of guilt and resentment towards myself.

I forgave others, but I never forgave myself for letting them hurt me.

We tell our friends and family to not be so hard on themselves when they face difficult situations, yet struggle with personalizing that advice towards our own situations. Why do we torture ourselves with the notion that we are not deserving of forgiveness?

Forgiving yourself doesn't free you from the consequences of your decisions. Rather than blaming yourself for a situation and falling into a cycle of self-loathing and guilt, you accept your failure and work resourcefully to improve your situation. Everyone fails. Yet we become so blinded by our fear of failure that we forget that success arises from the lessons learned through failure. We must embrace our failures as opportunities for growth and future success.

Accept your reality. Accept yourself. Recognize your current situation and accept who you are in that moment. Self-acceptance is the first and most crucial step of forgiving yourself. Stop blaming yourself. Not everything in life has a reason; not every situation is in your control. Life isn't fair. Sometimes there is no one to blame for a situation; that doesn't mean you should blame yourself.

Liberate yourself from the bonds of blame by understanding that sometimes things aren't O.K. and that itself is okay. Be good to yourself. Value yourself and recognize the worth that you possess. Love yourself--even the broken and damaged pieces of the person you are. The most important thing at the end of the day is how you treat yourself.

I forgave myself. I let go of the mistakes of my past with the recognition that they taught me lessons on how to be a better person today.

I forgive myself for my mistakes.

I forgive myself for the hurt I have caused others.

I forgive myself for letting other people influence the way I felt about myself.

I forgive myself for believing everything was in my control.

I forgive myself for not being perfect.

Forgiveness is the greatest gift I have ever given myself. We all deserve the forgiveness we are so willing to bestow on others. Give yourself the gift of acknowledging that you, too, are human.

We're all successes in progress.