Forgive and Forget Does Not Remove the Consequences of Our Actions

Boomerang on white paint background

As I’m traveling my transformation adventure, my thoughts are often drawn to those I’ve had to forgive along the way. We all have people we feel have wronged us in some way—whether it be a belief, perspective, or confirmed fact. Forgiveness keeps us moving forward. We certainly want to be forgiven when we inadvertently wrong others. And let’s face it, we’re all riddle with blind spots. So even with our best intentions at heart, we will surely upset someone at some point. Now that we’ve settled that bit of emotional physics, let’s move on.

When we get stuck in the “unable to forgive” spot, it’s usually because we believe that “forgive and forget” means a free pass for those in the organization who’ve wronged us. This is especially common in organizations with low accountability and integrity factors. But the “forget” part is for you and your ability to move on. There are ALWAYS consequences for our actions. They might not always be immediate, equal, and opposite, or perceptible by you, or even administered by your organization. But have faith that they do exist.

I also invite you to have faith that these unpleasant encounters have purpose, too. I know that I would not be who I am today, where I am today, and doing what I love so deeply to do, if it were not for those I have forgiven along the way. However, to be totally candid, forgiving isn’t a once and done event. It is a daily choice. Old hurts, disrespects, and flat out wrongs, will continue to be periodically triggered and bubble back up. And when this happens, I choose to forgive them again. Welcome to the adventure of life! I’m so happy you are here.