It is normal for people to make mistakes and it is also completely normal to feel guilty about it. However, dwelling on the past and excessively thinking about the future effects of what we did wrong will oftentimes make it worse.

It will greatly affect our practice, our overall health, and our relationships.

So, practicing self-forgiveness and self-compassion can provide relief, growth and empower nurses and midwives to move forward with their lives.

In this episode, Nathan Ilman talks about his journey to self-forgiveness and how we can start our journey toward it.

He provides a practical foundation for nurses and midwives in how to start thinking about and practicing self-forgiveness to enhance their wellbeing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

Many people have had an experience of doing something that they feel guilty about or even shame.

Self-forgiveness is something that we can learn about and a choice we can make to be kind to ourselves.

Whilst guilt can help drive positive behaviour, getting stuck in shame often does not, and becomes problematic.

Research literature shows that people who find it easier to forgive themselves tend to have better psychological and physical well-being.

On the other hand, people who find it hard to forgive themselves tend to experience high rates of mental ill health.

Genuine self-forgiveness involves a number of different steps. One is acknowledging our responsibility for the mistakes that have been made. 

Ask yourself this question: By continuing to focus on what you did wrong, what effect is it having on your practice? Is it enabling you to be an effective nurse or midwife? Is it affecting your family life? 

Letting go is a choice we can make and it is very empowering.

Set the intention to forgive yourself.

Self-forgiveness is a process. We can start again each day if we choose to.

When we give ourselves permission to forgive ourselves, it can open us to a range of possibilities. 

Overthinking and being locked into the past keeps people trapped in a lack of self-forgiveness.

Do these three things to start your journey on self-forgiveness:

1. Acknowledge the thing that you’ve been hard on yourself about.

2. Make a verbal or written commitment that you’re going to start forgiving yourself.

3. Try out a self-forgiving pause. 

Nurse Wellbeing Mission run online and in-person workshops for nurses and midwives where we train people in four key skill sets of self-forgiveness. This helps to overcome mistakes, set backs and moral distress. Drop us an email to find out more: nathan@nursewellbeingmission.com 

Visit our website at: https://www.nursewellbeingmission.com

Join our free Facebook group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursewellbeingmission