Contributed by Irene Watson

It is well proven time and again holding onto grudges and resentments that are filled with hostility are detrimental to your physical health and overall wellness. It sounds like a cliché, but I promise you that letting go and choosing forgiveness will set you free from the heavy anchors of resentment and anger that cause great misery in your life.

The first step to forgiveness is accepting the fact that you are fully responsible for your perceptions and how you feel about life events. It is up to you to make changes and not the people around you. Let this sink in and maybe even read it over a few times because accepting this construct as true and valid is the cornerstone of forgiveness.

Next, is to understand and accept that it takes every day practice to learn to let go of minor and/or major trespasses and truly forgive. It is important to know that you are not alone and most of us need to practice and learn to let go and forgive on a daily basis.

One encouragement that I can offer is that almost nothing satisfies the intrinsic value and internal power that comes from choosing to forgive. It can and will have only positive affects on your life and wellbeing.

As you practice small forgiveness through your daily life, you are more prepared to actively choose to forgive the greater hurtful events in your life. Practicing small acts of forgiveness every day in this way, will result in retraining your perceptions about life events while moving away from being a victim.

Believe it or not, we have all the power over how we feel and how we react. We may not have power and control over what others do, but we have absolute power over how we perceive, feel and act. Forgiveness means a change in old patterns of beliefs and perceptions that will lead us to compassion and understanding.

The fantastic and wonderful side effect of forgiveness is that once you choose to forgive and let go, you have taken back any power that was once granted the individual who caused you harm and you are truly free. Forgiveness is not an altruistic position, but rather it is something you do for yourself in order be healthy and have a good sense of wellness in the world every day.

Be generous with small acts of forgiveness every day.

Irene Watson, MA, is author of The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, and co-editor of The Story that Must Be Told: True Tales of Transformation, and Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers. She is a workshop leader, managing editor of Reader Views, and president of a non-profit Higher Power Foundation. Irene lives next to Barton Creek in Austin, TX, with her husband Robert.