The Forgiveness Step: Forgiving others/situations/circumstances
To forgive others/situations/circumstances, we are going to use the same template we use for self-forgiveness. However, in the “circumstance to forgive” section, we will enter an external person or situation or circumstance that has caused us pain. The same instructions I gave you for the self-forgiveness stage apply here.
Your summary statement regarding the others/situations/circumstances you wish to forgive goes here.
Circumstance to forgive | My employer has underpaid me/not rewarded me throughout my employment. |
Next, complete your forgiveness statement here:
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me feel as if I had no power in receiving the reward I desire. |
Lastly, your gratitude statement goes here.
Gratitude Statement | I am so thankful for this experience. This experience, this lack of reward, has helped me to know my own value. Your actions have helped me to see how much I am worth. This situation, this pain, has made me do the work that I needed to do in order for me to claim my worth. And I claim my worth today. In honor of my worth, I forgive you. I am so grateful that I have had this lesson. Now I will ensure I always receive the appropriate reward. So it is in this place of gratefulness that I forgive you. |
To help, I have created sample templates to help you get started.
Sample Forgiveness Template
Circumstance to forgive | My employer has underpaid me/not rewarded me throughout my employment. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for undervaluing me. I know your act of not seeing my value is not personal. [1] |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me doubt my worth. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me feel as if I had no power in receiving the reward I desire. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for the feelings of oppression I have endured throughout these years. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for your inability to compensate me for my gifts and talents. |
Gratitude Statement | I am so thankful for this experience. This experience, this lack of reward, has helped me to know my own value. Your actions have helped me to see how much I am worth. This situation, this pain, has made me do the work that I needed to do in order for me to claim my worth. And I claim my worth today. In honor of my worth, I forgive you. I am so grateful that I have had this lesson. Now I will ensure I always receive the appropriate reward. So it is in this place of gratefulness that I forgive you. |
Circumstance to forgive | I was laid off/downsized. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me doubt my value/my contributions to the workplace. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for putting me in a place of financial worry and forcing me into an uncertain job market.
|
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for the actions you took that were unfair to me.
|
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me feel unappreciated and not wanted. |
Forgiveness Statement | This layoff really hurt me. It made me doubt myself, my skills and my employability. I forgive you for triggering these feelings in me. |
Gratitude Statement | I am so grateful for this experience. Even though it has been painful, I have learned valuable lessons. I now know my contributions have value. I understand that I am worthy and am employable. I know that I can find new employment that is better than where I have been. I am ready to leave this pain and doubt behind me. I am ready to move forward into the new. It is with gratitude and understanding that I forgive you. |
Circumstance to forgive | My employer is not concerned about my professional growth. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for not providing me with opportunities to be fulfilled. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for not seeing how hard I have worked and for not promoting me accordingly. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for the constraints you have placed on my ability to grow and therefore find fulfillment in my work. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for the stagnation and “stuck-ness” I feel. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me feel invisible and unappreciated. |
Gratitude Statement | I am so grateful for this experience. Through this experience, I have come to realize I deserve work that fulfills me. I now know that my talents and gifts deserve appreciation. I am willing to have this in my life now. I know that I can find an employer who will appreciate all that I have to offer and promote me accordingly. In this state of gratitude, I forgive you. |
Circumstance to forgive | My coworkers are negative, not engaged and create a work environment that does not support my needs. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for your constant negativity. I forgive you for your inability to view the workplace in a positive light. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for creating an environment that is always focusing on the “bad” things that happen at work. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for gossiping about other coworkers and probably me as well. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for not being supportive of our team. |
Forgiveness Statement | I forgive you for making me focus on the negative rather than the positive. I forgive you for always bringing me down. |
Gratitude Statement | I am grateful that I have had this experience with you. It has shown me the impact that the negativity of others can have on my life. I am grateful that I have realized that your limitations should not be my limitations. I now see how your negativity has colored my reality. I now choose to see the workplace through a lens of positivity. I choose to surround myself with like-minded people. I choose to see the good at work and in other people. In this attitude of gratitude, I forgive you. |