Happy Girl on the Rise Wednesday!

Today’s newsletter is short, sweet, and powerful (kind of like me lol). Real quick, before we get to the good stuff, I have a favor to ask: if today’s newsletter resonates with you, please, please share it with someone you think needs to hear it. I think it’s so important that powerful messages get spread so that they can impact as many people as possible! Now, without further ado…

Today’s newsletter is 809 words (3-minute read).

This week’s affirmation:

“I am learning to forgive myself and live with compassion.”

Forgiveness.

What a word.

What an act.

What a process. 

Forgiveness is f***ing hard.

In fact, I don’t think we talk enough about how hard forgiveness is, especially when the person we need to forgive… is ourselves.

How do you forgive yourself when you were the one who caused the harm? When you made the choice, said the words, ignored the signs, betrayed your body, abandoned your own needs?

How do you extend empathy to someone you’ve been at war with? Someone like yourself?

Here’s the truth:

Forgiveness is not a one-time event. It’s a practice. It’s something you commit to every day for the rest of your life.

What’s even more important to understand is that forgiveness IS NOT about erasing what happened or pretending it didn’t hurt. It’s about acknowledging the damage, taking accountability, and still choosing to love yourself through the wreckage.

When you don’t forgive yourself, you can’t move forward.

Instead, you get stuck in a loop of shame, guilt, and self-punishment, and you convince yourself that holding on to the pain is what you deserve.

But let’s think about that for a minute… How does that make anything better?

How does punishing yourself allow you to become better? It doesn’t! Because you can’t move forward if you don’t forgive yourself.

Forgiveness means saying:

“I did the best I could with what I knew. And now, I know better. So I’ll do better.”

In my journey, some days, I’ve had to look in the mirror and say:

“I’m sorry. I forgive you. I love you anyway.”

Even when I didn’t believe it.

Even when the words felt like glass in my throat.

Even when I felt unworthy of my own grace.

But that’s the practice!

You say it. 

You do the actions that reaffirm it.

You try again tomorrow.

Little by little, you let the weight of shame and guilt loosen.

I’ve forgiven people who never said sorry.

I’ve forgiven people who took things I wasn’t ready to give.

I’ve forgiven myself for all the ways I betrayed my own heart, by settling, by silencing, by shrinking.

And I’ll be honest… There are still things I haven’t fully forgiven.

Some wounds still whisper. Some skeletons still knock on the door.

But I’ve learned that sometimes, healing isn’t about “letting it go” right away.

Sometimes, it’s about learning to live with the scar without picking the scab.

And maybe…

what you can’t yet forgive,

you can learn to carry with softness

not because what happened was okay,

but because you are worthy of peace

and your future deserves

more space than your past.

Forgive yourself. Not once. Not perfectly. But as often as you need to.

Until next time, keep going and keep growing!

Coach Tay

P.S. If you’re ready to reignite your spark and build a life that feels aligned, meaningful, and deeply yours, let’s talk. My 1:1 coaching program is open now. Book a free discovery call by clicking on the button:

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