There’s a difference between self-accountability and beating yourself up. Know the difference.
The guilty conscious is really something. It can help lead you to the right path of doing what’s necessary for your own betterment or it can consume you and keep you in a dark place of unworthiness.
Avoid the later at all costs.
I went through a dark period of feeling beyond guilty because of something I did to someone and it hurt them. Even though we patched things up, there was still that gnawing feeling that would haunt me into a place of despair and self-hate. I had to turn things around and fast.
I’m not perfect, but I’m not a rotten person
We all make mistakes and wrong choices, but that’s part of being human. It’s also a part of living and learning. I was sorry for what I did and acknowledged it, so why was I still feeling so bad about it? I had to gather myself and remember that it was a mistake and that I could get myself back on track. It was not fair to keep beating myself up for it while time continued to pass by. I did everything I could possibly do to rectify the situation and the only thing I could do at that point was move on.
Hear what Author Denise Lockett and Musician Eli Love have to say about battling depression
Remember who you are
Life’s roller-coasters, stones and gaping holes can cause us to lose sight of who we really are. Better yet, the things we possess to make ourselves that much more awesome. I started concentrating so much on the negative, that I started creating a whole new persona in my head that wasn’t even me. All because those pesky playbacks of the incident kept replaying in my mind, knocking myself and asking “what in the world were you thinking?” Well, those moments had to end because as I was driving in my car it came to me…”why are you beating yourself up like this?” I knew the badgering had to end. Every time a replay wanted to come into my mind I stopped it in it tracks and dug deep…dug into the positive side of me. The genuine and giving me. The always striving to do better and know I am able to bounce back and be better than I was before me.
Put those dark forces in check
Once you know who you are, be sure to remind THEM of who you are! Don’t let the lies of low self-esteem and doubt keep you bound. Speak it out loud if you have to. Let them hear you! Do not dwell on the mistakes and do not let those replays manifest in your mind. Shut them all down and say something positive about yourself and where you’re going. Acknowledge what will be accomplished as a result of you persevering through life’s lessons.
Show embarrassment, shame and fear the door! You’ve got work to do and lives to impact!