Why would you betray yourself in the first part? Or anger yourself, etc.?
It's not completely based on self-betrayal. It's feeling guilty years after committing some offense. You can't forgive yourself for hurting someone else, something like that.
I ask because I don't know what sort of advice to give to someone in this situation.
I've told them that in the past, I've accepted my mistakes and tried to learn from them.
But it seems this is not enough.
This is insightful. I have not thought of this...Guilt is an emotion that gives you the impression that there's something missing; that there's something else you could have done, or can do, often with a self-punishment/redemption component weaved in. It's an active emotion that is constantly present and spurring you on that I don't think you can battle off until you've rationally accepted you've done all you can.
I think forgiveness is akin to understanding. If you can see what factors played into making a particular choice, how you made the wrong choice and why you did it, then it's possible to avoid it in the future. I do think it is a difficult question and tends to run rather deeply. It is difficult to feel peace or resolution with guilt.It's not completely based on self-betrayal. It's feeling guilty years after committing some offense. You can't forgive yourself for hurting someone else, something like that.
I ask because I don't know what sort of advice to give to someone in this situation.
I've told them that in the past, I've accepted my mistakes and tried to learn from them.
But it seems this is not enough.
This is insightful. I have not thought of this...
I guess it all comes down to acceptance.. But why would someone rather agonize over things than accept them?
I think forgiving yourself means that you've come to terms with your mistakes, and realized that the only way to make amends is to learn from them and move on.
To me, guilt is the opposite of this. Guilt is an emotion that gives you the impression that there's something missing; that there's something else you could have done, or can do, often with a self-punishment/redemption component weaved in. It's an active emotion that is constantly present and spurring you on that I don't think you can battle off until you've rationally accepted you've done all you can.
When you realize that all you can do, is all you can do, I think that's when you're ready to approach the self-forgiveness phase. You realize that you can either sit here, with a barrel of regrets and let the whole thing obstruct potentially brighter possibilities, or you can just accept what you've done and move on, taking the lessons into advisement to help you craft a better future.