Up for Parole? Approved!

Knowledge

People make mistakes. The saying, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” was created for a reason. Everyone messes up at some point or another. It’s part of the human experience. Yet some people, when they’ve made a mistake, decide that they have to pay for that mistake for the rest of their lives. They hold onto it as though it were a whip they can use to beat themselves up at any moment. They obsess about what they did, how hurtful it was to the person they hurt, how horrible they were for doing something so stupid, and so on. The event is kept alive in the mind, and consequently, the bad feelings never go away. The “Mistake” is never released.

When a person goes to prison for a crime they’ve committed, they may qualify for parole for “good behavior.” The Parole Board assesses the prisoner to see if he/she is rehabilitated; they want to make sure there's no chance that he/she might do it again.

Outside of prison, however, regular, non-criminal types—people like you—don’t even give yourselves the opportunity of being paroled. You keep yourselves in a prison of your own making; you believe that you deserve to pay dearly for doing whatever you did. More often than not, the offense doesn’t merit lifelong attention.

So you made a mistake. How long do you intend to pay for IT? If hardened criminals get a chance at being paroled, why not you? Most people are too hard on themselves. They think that feeling guilty serves them right; that they don't deserve to ever feel happy. WRONG!

If you did something for which you are genuinely sorry, admit responsibility, apologize; make amends, then let it go! Holding onto it serves absolutely no purpose. You have the right to be free. Past mistakes can’t be taken back. What you can take back is your life NOW. You know that you will not be repeating whatever you did in the first place. Why keep punishing yourself?

In his book, The Sacred Self, Wayne Dyer writes, “You cannot have a better past.” But guess what? You can have a better future!

Give yourself the chance to live a guilt-free life. The Parole Board has heard your case.
APPROVED!

Well Street

Great message! Mistakes can be effective lessons for us to learn from, but to your point, they're often regarded as reasons to perpetually beat oneself down without end.

Slipstream

I agree 100%. Dragging that anchor throughout your life does nothing to improve your life or anyone else's. Thanks for the wisdom.