Forgiveness Wednesday: A Great Day to Forgive Yourself
It's not just healthy — it's productive
7:29 AM. The train starts rolling a minute late.
Half the city is still asleep, but I have already seen a thousand people. They’ve passed me in cars, on the street, inside the station.
Old people, young people, sad people, happy people, tired people, excited people. People with hats, people in suits, people going to the gym. Someone who just got dumped, someone who just found $20, someone who’s never been here before.
They’re all so different, and yet, something unites them and you and me: regrets.
We all have those, don’t we? Like people, our regrets may also differ in shape and size, but we each have our own little set that we carry around. Big ones, small ones, regrets from the past, and regrets from 15 minutes ago.
I regret not sleeping earlier yesterday. Spent too much time on my phone.
I regret not sticking with my Youtube channel back in 2006.
Imagine you could see people’s latest regret displayed over heir head as you walk by. Wouldn’t that make you feel a lot better? “Oh my god, she regrets that too! I’m not alone!”
Well, you aren’t! You’re never alone with your regrets. Right now, somewhere on this blue planet, someone regrets the exact same thing you do — but it’s not helping either of you.
When you kick yourself for past mistakes in the present, you’re twisting reality. You’re projecting failures onto yourself that are no longer there. It’s okay to let them go.
The only way to succeed and be happy, to live not just a good life but an unencumbered one, is to relentlessly forgive yourself. Always and for everything. The sooner, the better.
In fact, you can’t learn anything from your mistakes before you do. Can’t improve, can’t move forward. Forgiveness isn’t just healthy — it’s essential to being productive.
Maybe you’re already running late today. Maybe you disappointed your boss on Monday. Maybe you’ll fail to meet your next deadline. That’s okay. You’ll find your way. Just like thousands of people every day, boarding the right train.
Wednesday. What a great day to forgive yourself.
-Nik
About Forgiveness Wednesday: No matter how the week starts, by Wednesday, we’ve had enough time to kick ourselves. We’re human. We make mistakes, we regret them, and we blame ourselves. But the only way we can keep moving on is if we forgive ourselves and those around us. So every Wednesday, forgiveness is what we’ll practice.
Let’s be kind to ourselves so we can succeed.
Nik, your reflection on the universality of regret is profound and relatable. The idea of visualizing others' regrets as a way to feel less alone in our own is a powerful concept. Your encouragement to practice relentless self-forgiveness as a path to learning and moving forward is not just insightful but deeply healing. Your writing reminds us that we're all human, making mistakes and learning as we go.
Keep sharing these thoughtful perspectives!
Robert