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Ditch Guilt Without Feeling Guilty About It

Do you often feel guilty? Unfortunately, it is a common in our fast-paced world. If you are anything like me, you are stretched too thin and always have way too many things to do. You likely worry about whether you are spending enough time with your children, your spouse or other people that are important … Continued
Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD

Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD

2 Min Read

Do you often feel guilty? Unfortunately, it is a common in our fast-paced world. If you are anything like me, you are stretched too thin and always have way too many things to do. You likely worry about whether you are spending enough time with your children, your spouse or other people that are important in your life. You are probably stressed about being attentive enough while taking care of all that is on your plate. There is both social guilt- guilt placed on us by society and the people in our lives- and guilt that is self-imposed. Feeling too much guilt is bad for your mindset, though, and can have a negative impact on your relationships with others. Therefore, it’s important to do what you can to eradicate it.

Here are some steps you can take to experience less guilt and to feel better about all of your choices:

  1. Remind yourself that you don’t have super powers. If you find yourself feeling guilty about something, remember that you are not superhuman and can’t possibly do everything. Nobody can. There are not enough hours in the day to do all that you want to, so feel confident with what you do choose to spend your time on.
  2. Be okay with saying no. You don’t always have to say yes to all that’s asked of you. It’s okay and even healthy to say no when you are unable to accomodate a request. Saying no without feeling bad about it is an important part of cutting guilt from your life.
  3. Establish proper limits. If you set appropriate boundaries, you will have more time for the people and things that are important to you and feel less guilty about time spent elsewhere. This also involves communicating exactly what those boundaries are to others.
  4. Avoid overcommitting. Never commit to more than you should. Lean into delegation, outsourcing, and seeking additional help when you need it. Getting tasks covered by other people will help cut down on excessive feelings of guilt.
  5. Love yourself. Guilt has to do with feeling like you are not good enough or that you aren’t doing enough. Love yourself always and remember that your intentions are good and that you’re doing your best.