Did you ever intentionally drink or eat poison? What am I talking about? Of course you didn’t! It would have made you very ill, it would have laid you up for at least several days or weeks, it might have killed you. It’s a safe bet your work would have suffered, as well.
Sometimes, though, we let our work, our bodies, our minds suffer terribly by holding poisonous grudges and by withholding healing forgiveness. Anger does not beget productivity.
Harboring resentments keeps us in a miserable struggle and opens us to repression, anxiety, and depression. Forgiving puts us at peace with ourselves, renewing our vitality, giving us a sense of peace and well-being, and bolstering our self-esteem. Forgiveness has the quality to free and heal the forgiver; it gives us the chance to mold a happier, new future.
Frankly, I’ll take the peaceful self-esteem over the miserable struggle any day. The peace brings me closer to my goals; the misery, at best, leaves me spinning my wheels.
Productive people don’t waste time and energy on an unchangeable situation. Productive people refuse to hold the anger, they forgive, they’re happy.
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