Forgiveness Definition | What Is Forgiveness - Greater Good Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness Just as important as defining what forgiveness is, though, is understanding what forgiveness is not Experts who study or teach forgiveness make clear that when
What Does It Actually Mean to Forgive? - Greater Good People can forgive those who are dangerous and still insist that those who very seriously break the law and are harmful to others should be in a correctional institution for the good of society Personally, I have yet to find a definitive critique of forgiveness that renders it illogical or harmful to oneself or others
Eight Keys to Forgiveness - Greater Good For example, you don’t need to forgive your child or your spouse for being imperfect, even if their imperfections are inconvenient for you To become clearer, you can look carefully at the people in your life—your parents, siblings, peers, spouse, coworkers, children, and even yourself—and rate how much they have hurt you
Fred Luskin Explains How to Forgive - Greater Good Fred Luskin discusses why and how to forgive at the Greater Good Science Center event, "Forgiveness and Gratitude " His talk draws on the insights he’s gained through leading the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects, the largest interpersonal forgiveness training research projects ever conducted
How to Forgive Your Partner, Even When It’s Hard - Greater Good How hard it is to forgive our partner can depend on a lot of things, including how serious we feel the transgression is For example, we might be willing to forgive a spouse if he’s constantly late for dinner and making us wait, but find it harder to forgive his infidelity
Twelve Steps to Self-Forgiveness - Greater Good 5 End self-attack This essay is adapted from The Forgive for Good Recovery Workbook: Overcome Addiction, Heal Your Past, and Find Peace in Sobriety (New Harbinger, 2025, 184 pages) The key to the practice of self-forgiveness is releasing self-attack—dealing too harshly with ourselves even if we have failed or hurt someone
What Is Forgiveness? | Bible Questions We forgive others when we let go of resentment and give up any claim to be compensated for the hurt or loss we have suffered The Bible teaches that unselfish love is the basis for true forgiveness, since love “does not keep account of the injury ” — 1 Corinthians 13: 4, 5 What forgiveness does not mean Condoning the offense
What If You’re Not Ready to Forgive? - Greater Good The quick decision to forgive may be more or less available to you depending on your background and beliefs “Some religious groups have a deep commitment to respond in a forgiving way in response to unjust harm