In a world full of uncertainty, I can promise you one thing: someone is going to wrong you. At work, at home, in your neighborhood. It’s a guarantee.
Then the choice is yours. It’s easy to hold a grudge, to get even, to freeze the other person out. We all know those tricks. We’ve seen them play out in our teams forever.
But here’s the kicker. Holding a grudge is ultimately a case of self-inflicted injury. Long after the other person has forgotten the incident and moved on, you’re hung on the hook of your own anger.
The person who forgives knows the secret that you don’t have to be in bondage to the past forever. That, as the late Lew Smedes said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free – and to realize that the prisoner was you!”
I know we’re squeamish about words like forgiveness in the marketplace. And I know forgiveness is neither simple nor easy. But it’s a lot better than the alternative.
