Guilt is the worst feeling that keeps coming back, no matter how much you avoid it

I feel guilty all the time for the smallest things.

Sometimes I’ll tell a little lie to get out of doing work or eat a snack when I was walking around. Once, I even felt guilty for enjoying myself at my friend’s house while my little sister was at home. I especially feel bad when I skip working out for one day or don’t push myself as much as I can.

For me, it’s a nagging voice asking me why didn’t I do this or why did I do this. This new wave of guilt can cause stress, sadness, or anger directed at me for not following the plan I had set up.

It’s not like I can just remove the feeling bad once the guilt washes over you. Once it sticks to me, it just continues to bother me.

Inspirational words from a mom

Now, if I ever feel any type of guilt, I remember what my mom told me.

She said to me gently, “Your heart should be like a lotus leaf. When water falls on a lotus leaf, it gently slides off and the leaf stays dry. Similarly, you should not let your past actions affect you.”

How you interpret this is up to you, but for me, it meant I should not dwell on what has happened or what could have been. It will only make things worse for me. Usually, when you do something, it is in your best interest.

If I skip a workout or eat a bunch of sweets, maybe my body needed that rest or deserved those sweets.

Pushing my body when it is asking me to take a break could be dangerous, so there’s one way I used to start getting over my extreme guilt overeating and exercising.

If I was angry and I yelled at a family member, of course, I will feel guilty later. But that doesn’t fix the problem, as I am only pushing off dealing with the dilemma I am having.

Working to deal with your constant guilt

Guilt doesn’t help solve the problem you have, it makes it worse for you to move on or fix it. I am still learning this, but slowly getting better at not feeling so bad about myself and setting expectations that I could not reach.

It’s ok to have goals and have high expectations of yourself, but if you don’t reach them, that’s not a big deal! There are many more things to come your way.

So don’t be sadden or guilty over small things that can easily be ignored or fixed. Try either seeing whether your decision was the right one. If it was not, address it or move on.

With more acceptance towards yourself, it gets easier. I know myself, since I feel guilty or pity myself, but I try not to let small things get to me and keep going.

The key is to keep moving along because it does get better. So keep doing whatever makes you happy and keeps you going!