HOW GUILTY ARE YOU?

Guilt is said to be a psychological mechanism meant to protect our social standings and acceptance within a group. This makes perfect sense when you dissect any situation to which you have felt guilt. In most cases the initiation of guilt is derived from a scenario where you failed to live up to a certain standard that resulted in harm either to yourself or others. This can be a useful tool for motivating yourself to do what you think is right, but it can also cause an unnecessary amount of stress if left unchecked.

For myself guilt has helped me get the gym when I’m tired, eat healthy when I crave junk food and show up on time for work when sleeping in would have felt so good. However it has also caused me a great deal of grief, I often go out of my way to please others with inequitable opposition to my self interests. Another flaw of guilt is when I beat myself up over the most insignificant failures and fall into a self imposed misery. When this happens I find a need to reflect on my emotions and rationalize what has actually taken place. I also need to step back once in awhile and try to enjoy everyday life more often and not take everything so seriously, because in the end does any of it really matter as long as you know you tried your best? Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts.