Forgiveness - Forgiving Yourself
| Category: | Forgiveness |
|---|---|
| Notes: | Best for older Scouts. Good after a Scout has made a mistake they're still beating themselves up about, or as a general minute. Pairs with wellbeing-talk-to-yourself-like-a-friend and the other Forgiveness minutes. |
We talk a lot about forgiving other people. Letting go of grudges. Giving second chances. But sometimes the hardest person to forgive is the one in the mirror.
Maybe you said something you can't take back. Maybe you let your patrol down on a campout. Maybe you made a mistake that hurt someone, and even though it was weeks ago, you still replay it every night before you fall asleep.
If you feel bad about something you did, that's actually a good sign. It means you have a conscience. It means you care. But feeling bad forever doesn't fix anything. It just keeps you stuck.
So how do you forgive yourself?
First, own it. Be honest about what you did, without making excuses and without making it bigger than it was.
Second, make it right if you can. Apologize to the person you hurt. Fix what you broke. Do the work.
Third, learn from it. Ask yourself, "What would I do differently next time?" Then actually do it differently next time.
And then, let it go. You'd give a friend a second chance after they owned their mistake and tried to make it right. Give yourself the same chance.
Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody. What matters is what you do next. You can carry it around forever, or you can learn from it and become a better Scout because of it.