Guilty as Charged

I have a question - Does anyone have the secret to not feeling guilty?

I’ve been told “guilt is a useless emotion.” Is it, though? Doesn’t a certain amount of guilt help keep you on the path to doing what’s right, moral, ethical? I think guilt is the administrative assistant to the executive, your conscience. It’s there to constantly remind you of things you should be doing that you’re obviously not, as well as admonishing you for doing things you shouldn’t have done.

The problem comes when guilt overrides everything else, takes over your mind, creates obsessive overthinking until you question your purpose in this world and the meaning of life in general. Till it keeps you up the minute you put your head on your pillow until you wake up from only a few hours of sleep, feeling all sluggish, unhappy, and of course, guilty. That’s when the saying “guilt is a useless emotion” is most appropriate since you’re basically useless from mental and physical exhaustion.

I must have been born guilty because I can’t remember a time without it. As far back as four years old, my sense of responsibility was that of an adult, with guilt as my BFF with its arm around my shoulders, weighing me down but also propelling me forward to make sure everyone was happy at a time I shouldn’t have had a care in the world.

Obviously, there are extremes on the guilt spectrum. Sociopaths feel no guilt so they’re on the low end, right about 0. Then there’s me, and if the spectrum ends at 100, I’m at 101.

Feel free to share your guilty thoughts (lol) and insights.

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