how-to-reduce-guilt When it comes to guilt, most people underestimate the negative effects it can have. It is really important to not dismiss this as something that will just go away. The discomfort that is created by guilt can easily put you down and ruin your life if it lasts for a long time. However, if you manage to reduce guilt and deal with it, you will find yourself with a new surge of energy as you conquer a difficult moment in your life. This is why if you feel guilt now and you want to reduce the feeling, Cielo Gonzalez Villa offers 3 strategies to do just that. Re-Framing Guilt Into An Appropriate Responsibility You need to explore what is actually happening whenever you are weighed down by the harsh words of someone or by the guilt that you feel. Basically, it is important to pinpoint what your real responsibility is. Were your choices those that created problems? Can you contribute to the situation in order to actually do something about it? These are questions that help you. Guilt is always reactive so one way to deal with it is to take responsibility in a proactive way. Recalibrating how you think by carefully and calmly assessing responsibility helps you to become proactive. Clarity is important for assertiveness, which is vital to deal with guilt. Stop Trying To Convince People That You Are Not Guilty Guilt causes immediate defensiveness. After determining responsibility, it is time to believe in yourself and let go of the defensive approach. Remember that with everything you do in life, the power is solely in your hands. Decisions you take should always be based on the assessments you make, not what others believe. If you refuse to take guilt-trips your relationships are rebalanced and rebuilt based on completely realistic lines. There are people that will guilt trip you and that will tell you that you owe them something. This so often leads to people thinking that this is actually the case when the truth is that there is no responsibility attached to anything. Your social interactions have to be open-handed and based on accurate relationship status. If someone guilt trips you but you should not feel any guilt about what is said to have happened, it is better to just stop the relationship. Acknowledge That The Individual’s Choices Are Not Your Responsibility It is common to notice people being tempted to apologize, argue or feel guilty in the event that there is someone else that expresses disappointment or anger with a decision that was made. This often happens without even realizing that behind the reaction there is a feeling that the guilty individual is responsible for the letdown. In reality, if you make a choice, it is not something that should be argued by someone else. You can so easily end up feeling guilty because others just do not agree with your decisions. Respect your choices and point out the fact that how they feel about your choices is not something that should affect you. The truth is that you can only feel inferior if you allow others to make you feel inferior.