Why should you forgive someone for being unfair? In fact, research shows that forgiveness can enhance psychological well-being, physiological health, and spiritual well-being (Noreen et al., 2014). To forgive someone is an effortful activity: to forgive, we need to overcome strong negative emotions and replace these with more positive emotions. This takes an effort, but it might be worth it.
A new experimental study by Saima Noreen and her colleagues (2014) finds that forgiveness helps people forget intentionally:
“… Forgiveness facilitates forgetting, insofar as once an individual has forgiven a transgressor, the forgiver becomes more successful at suppressing the details concerned with the offense.”
Why should we forget? You can easily imagine the benefits of forgetting distressful memories or moments. When we forget, we are able to move on with our lives and focus on the more positive aspects of it. In this way, we can establish a more positive mindset in general.
