3d • General discussion
Word of the Week: Forgiveness
I'll be honest — when this word first came to me today, I almost set it aside.
Forgiveness doesn't sound like a fitness word. It doesn't sound motivating. It sounds heavy. Sad, even.
But then I sat in church this morning. And I heard a message that stopped me in my tracks.
Our church — District Church in El Dorado Hills — has a summer series called Summer at the Movies. They take Hollywood films and find the deeper message beneath the story. This week they used the movie Antwone Fisher — a powerful story about a young Navy man filled with anger, unable to find love or peace, no matter how hard he tried.
It wasn't until he forgave — his past, the people who hurt him, and himself — that he was finally able to move forward. To find freedom. To experience the love he had been searching for his entire life.
I haven't seen the full movie yet. But I intend to. And I recommend it to anyone who feels like something from the past is quietly holding them back today.
---
Here's the reframe I want to offer you this week:
Forgiveness is not about the other person.
It is not about excusing what happened.
It is not about pretending the hurt wasn't real.
Forgiveness is about setting yourself free.
The weight of what we carry — resentment, regret, old anger, shame, past versions of ourselves we're not proud of — is costing us something. Energy. Sleep. Presence. Health. Joy.
That weight does not live in the past. It lives in your body. Right now. Today.
And your body cannot fully heal, recover, or thrive when it is carrying that kind of load.
---
I also want to share something personal. Because I think it matters.
I tend to hold onto things. When life doesn't go my way — when I'm tired, when I haven't eaten well, when I'm overwhelmed — I react the way my father did. I become a version of myself that I'm not proud of. It might only last a few minutes. But a few minutes can be too much.
I have worked on this for years. And I'll be honest — it still happens today.
I pray for forgiveness. For myself. And I pray that tomorrow I will be a better version of who I was today.
I'm sharing this not because I have it figured out. But because I think a lot of you are carrying something similar. And you deserve to know you are not alone.
---
I also opened my Bible app this morning — before church — and the daily reading was about forgiveness. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The core message:
Nothing can separate you from love. Your past — all of it — does not have to define your future.
I'm not here to preach. Not everyone in this community shares my faith and that is completely okay. I did not grow up as a Christian myself.
But I do believe — regardless of where you stand spiritually — that the concept of forgiveness is one of the most powerful and underutilized tools for human wellbeing that exists.
Science agrees. Research consistently shows that people who forgive — themselves and others — have lower cortisol levels, better cardiovascular health, less chronic pain, improved sleep, and stronger immune function.
Forgiveness is not just spiritual. It is physiological.
---
Here's what I want you to sit with this week:
Is there something — or someone — you have been carrying that is quietly weighing you down?
An old hurt. A relationship that ended badly. A version of yourself you haven't been able to forgive. A mistake you keep replaying.
What would it feel like to set that down?
Not forget it. Not excuse it. Just... put it down. And choose to move forward anyway.
---
Your FORGIVENESS challenge this week:
Write down one thing — one person, one situation, one version of yourself — that you have been carrying.
Then write this underneath it:
"I choose to release this. Not because it didn't matter. But because I matter more than this weight."
You do not have to feel it fully to start. Just begin.
---
Good → Better → Best
Good: Watch Antwone Fisher this week. Let the story do what it is meant to do.
Better: Write your forgiveness letter — to someone else or to yourself. You don't have to send it. Just write it.
Best: Talk to someone. A coach, a counselor, a trusted friend. The weight you have been carrying alone does not have to stay there.
---
I'll close with this:
The healthiest version of you is not just the one with the best nutrition plan or the strongest workout routine.
It is the one who has done the inner work too.
Forgive. Release. Move forward.
You were made for more than the weight you've been carrying.
Drop a comment below — this one is personal. What does forgiveness mean to you?
→ If you are ready to work on your whole self — body, mind, and lifestyle — that is exactly what I do. metabolicedgesystem.com
0
0 comments
Word of the Week: Forgiveness
skool.com/brienshampscoaching
Personalized Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching/ Award-Winning Metabolic, Functional & Corrective Fitness Training
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
+2
2
+1
3
+1
4
+1
Powered by