The Healing Power of Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive the people we love.” – Mister Rogers
“Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past.” – Pastor T.D. Jakes
The upcoming holiday season offers opportunities to gather with family and friends, but it can also kick up a hornet’s nest of spats, grudges, resentments, anger, and unsettled disputes. We have a one-word prescription: Forgiveness. It’s the greatest gift you can give to others, as well as the most powerful gift you can give yourself. Forgiveness is an important tool in managing our relationships and dealing with conflict, both important steps in growing our emotional intelligence. It is not condoning or forgetting about wrong behavior. It doesn’t guarantee that pain will go away. Rather, it is letting go of negative and potentially toxic feelings that keep us stuck in the past: anger, vengefulness, bitterness, and resentment. Forgiveness is not a once-and done thing, it is a process. Like a muscle, we must exercise it to strengthen it.
Here are some steps to start the process:
- Make it a value in your life. Hold forgiveness as a goal and work up to it in incremental stages.
- Forgive yourself. When we honestly face our own weaknesses and imperfections, it can help us develop tolerance for others.
- Start with the small things. Let go of small slights and assume the best of others. Practice a small forgiveness every day and work up to the big things.
- Just do it. Thanksgiving, the holiday season, and the New Year offer the perfect opportunity to reconnect. Make the call, send the email, and extend a hand.
- Get help. If you are having trouble “letting go” of past wrongs, your EAP is here day and night for whatever help you may need. Call us 24/7/365 at 800-252-4555. Your EAP also offers robust Self-Help Resources for interpersonal relationships, partnerships and marriage, family life, and parenting, which you can access by logging in to www.theEAP.com.
Featured November Webinar
Practicing Gratitude to Boost Your Happiness
Learn how being thankful can change your life for the better. Gratitude opens your heart and your mind allowing you to feel more present, generous, thankful, empathetic, kind, patient, positive and more aware of the beauty that surrounds you. To access this Webinar and related resources, simply log in to www.theEAP.com during November.
Learn Your Risk for Diabetes
November is American Diabetes Month. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of US death, but most people first have prediabetes. Over a third of US adults have prediabetes but don’t know it. You may be able to prevent or reverse prediabetes with proven lifestyle changes. To take a quick prediabetes risk test and get tools for preventing or managing diabetes, see our blog post: Prevent Prediabetes: Learn Your Risk.
Self-Care for the Caregiver
November is the month for recognizing caregivers. The Caregiver Action Network offers these 10 Tips for Family Caregivers (click for more detail):
1. Seek Support from Other Caregivers | 6. Watch Out for Signs of Depression |
2. Take Care of Your Own Health | 7. Be Open to New Technologies |
3. Accept Offers of Help | 8. Organize Medical Information |
4. Communicate Effectively with Healthcare Professionals |
9. Ensure Legal Documents Are in Order |
5. Take Respite Breaks | 10. Give Yourself Credit |
Learn and Grow!
Want to grow personally or professionally? You have thousands of training topics to choose from. Below are a few suggestions or search for your own themes. Simply click on “Member Login” at www.theEAP.com, sign in, and click on the comprehensive training library in the “Training Center.”
- NEW! The Art of Assertiveness | Course ID: SVL_1022691
This 27-minute course explains how assertiveness applies at work, key benefits, how to handle a manipulative coworker, tips for communicating assertively, and using assertiveness to improve your overall work experience. - Strategies to Manage Anxiety | Course ID: SVL_014405
Unexpected events, a sense of isolation, and a constant stream of negative information have left us with stress and anxiety. This 5-minute video offers practical techniques to maintain balance and remain calm. - Respect at Work: Active Listening | Course ID: SVL_1027050
This 6-minute video lesson offers both good and bad examples of listening in the workplace and tips for becoming a better active listener.
Learn More!
How to Scan a QR Code
1. Open the camera app.
2. Select the rear-facing camera in Photo mode.
3. Center the QR code you want to scan on the screen and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds.
4. Tap the notification that pops up to open the link. (You will need to be connected to the internet to do this.)
Don’t Forget!
EAP services are available to you and your household members as well as dependent children living away from home, up to age 26.
November Observances
Accessing Your EAP Training Center
1. Go to www.theEAP.com and
click Member Login.
2. If you’ve already created an
account, log in with your User
Name/Password.
3. If it’s your first time, click
REGISTER to create your User
Name and Password. You only
need to register once.
4. Click the ‘Training Center’ and
then choose ‘Comprehensive
Training library.’
5. In the Search bar at the top of the
screen, type the course code or
search for a topic.
6. Click the course icon, and click the
‘Play’ or ‘Start’ button to begin.
To get a certificate: View the course and take the quiz. Not all courses require a quiz, but if so, you must score at least 80% for a certificate. To get your certificate, click on the ribbon icon below the right corner of the video. The certificate will download to your computer.
www.theEAP.com | 800.252.4555