Free yourself from guilt

1. Work out the cost

For this step you will need a pen and paper. Make a list of what guilt has cost you. What has it prevented you from doing that you otherwise would have done? In what ways does it hold you back? How has it affected those around you? Who or what would you be today if you hadn’t been paralyzed by guilt?  Try to spell out the costs of your guilt in as much detail as possible.

2. Imagine

For this step, you will need to use your imagination. Try to do this somewhere quiet and calm, where you won’t be disturbed. Still yourself. Calm your thoughts. Concentrate on you breathing,  and then take time to imagine how your life would be different if it were free from guilt. What would you look like if you ditched the guilt? How would you relate to those around you? How would you look? How would you walk and talk? Imagine yourself speaking to a close friend in this new ‘body’.  What sort energy do you give off? Try to see this image in as much color and detail as possible. Enjoy the vision you have of a life free from guilt, and tell yourself that such a life is possible.

3. Decide 

This step is the key step. You have established what the cost to you of guilt has been. You have seen how your life could be different without guilt. Now is the time to make the change. Make a decision that from now on you will live without feeling guilty.  This can feel false at first, but the more you practice this, the more it becomes a natural part of who you are, and how you think and behave.

4. Act

You need to get into the habit of acting and behaving in a way that demonstrates to you, and the world, that you have truly dropped the guilt. Stand tall. Believe in yourself.  Look others kindly in the eye. Look yourself as kindly as well.

5. Keep going

It’s important to be kind to yourself if you find you are slipping back into old ways of thinking and behaving. If you find yourself feeling guilty again, remind yourself of your decision to think and behave differently. Keep on going in the knowledge that it is worth it. Look at the time you’ve had without guilt, and believe that you can have it again. You are not going towards perfection..just progress. With truth, integrity and perseverance your imagined guilt-free life will become real.  Our brain does not know the difference between a really vivid thought and reality.

With practice it is possible to lead a life that is free from guilt. Enjoy the changes that ditching the guilt bring. And let the light of the new guilt-free you shine! 

Have a peaceful week 

Nate Klarfeld