Holding anger and rage inside immobilizes us and destroys our life and relationships. If you are holding on to a hurt that is preventing you from moving on in life, learn about the power of forgiveness and how it can set you free.

1. Forgiveness is always about you – not the other person.

• You must look in your own heart in order to forgive and intimately connect to what it is to be human. Do you have compassion for the human condition, i.e., for making mistakes, for wishing if you had to do it all over again your would do it differently?
• If you cannot personally connect to this feeling, you can never forgive another.
• In order to do this, you must first be able to forgive yourself.

1. Forgiveness is not about what you “should” do.

• Forgiveness may be a concept you have intellectually incorporated into your life, but if it becomes a “should” for you, you have not truly forgiven.
• “Should” and “Ought” come from the mind.
• Forgiveness comes from the heart.

1. To forgive, you must feel…and remember.

• Remember when you needed forgiveness.
• Only by feeling, can you forgive and in the process remember your own humanness.
• We all need forgiveness.

1. Forgiving releases anger and resentment.

• Not forgiving is very toxic to the mind, heart and body.
• When you hold on to anger and resentment, all systems begin to break down.
• The minute you forgive, an openness takes place that was not there previously.

1. Forgiveness frees you and opens your heart to loving.

• There is nothing that will free you faster than letting go and moving on.
• The “letting go” and “moving on” take place simultaneously in the moment and instantly there is an incredible lightness of being.
• As the toxic thoughts dissipate, the heart opens to loving.

In a national competition, Chandra Alexander, MSW, was selected by THE OPRAH MAGAZINE as the Life Coach to deliver a series of coaching sessions to the grand prize winner of their prestigious Toyota Moving Forward contest. She also spent five years on NBC/TV “DAYTIME” giving a weekly “Reality Check”. Chandra has been living and teaching authenticity for the last 30 years and is the founder of Coaching for Authenticity, a place to explore and discover the essence of who you really are.