Happiness Break: A Science-Backed Path to Self-Forgiveness

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Social Sciences, Science

4.5 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 5 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Through breath, compassion, and kind words to yourself, this guided meditation helps you forgive yourself, let go, and move forward with love.

How To Do This Practice:

Get Comfortable: Sit upright but relaxed. Close your eyes or soften your gaze, and take a few slow, deep breaths. Inhale gently through your nose and slowly, twice as long, through your mouth.
Bring Something to Mind: Think of a mistake, harsh word, or regret you’re holding against yourself. Notice how it feels in your body, without judging it.
Acknowledge What Happened: Silently say to yourself: “I acknowledge that I made this mistake.” Take a breath.
Remember Your Humanity: Remind yourself: “I am human. Being human means I will sometimes fall short.”
Offer Forgiveness: Place a hand over your heart (or somewhere comforting) and repeat: “I forgive myself for this. May I learn from it and move forward.”
Close with Kindness: Breathe deeply. Once more, say: “I forgive myself. May I treat myself with kindness.”
Check In with Your Body Again: Notice if anything feels lighter or softer—maybe your breath, your shoulders, or your chest. Allow yourself to rest in that shift, however small.
Take one final deep breath: When you feel ready, gently open your eyes and return to your day.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

DACHER KELTNER is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Related Happiness Break episodes:

A Meditation on Original Love: https://tinyurl.com/5u298cv4

Who Takes Care of You: https://tinyurl.com/5xmfkf73

A Note to Self on Forgiveness: https://tinyurl.com/y53tkn87

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Nine Steps to Forgiveness: https://tinyurl.com/vb7kk5ky

How to Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

This episode is part of "Putting the Science of Forgiveness into Practice," a multiyear project run by the Greater Good Science Center and supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). Learn more about forgiveness on TWCF's Discover Forgiveness website.

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/yh2a5urt

Transcript

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0:00.0	How much awe and wonder do you experience in your life?
0:03.6	From the John Templeton Foundation, our sponsors at the Science of Happiness,
0:07.3	the Templeton Ideas Podcast, explores the most awe-inspiring ideas in our world
0:12.4	with the people who investigate them.
0:15.0	Host Tom Burnett sits down with inspiring thinkers like Alison Gopnik, David Brooks,
0:20.2	Tyler Cowens, and Gretchen
0:22.0	Rubin to discuss how their investigations have transformed their lives and how they may transform
0:28.1	yours. Learn more at templeton.org slash podcast. This episode is part of putting the science
0:36.5	of forgiveness into practice, a project by the
0:39.5	Greater Good Science Center that's supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
0:45.5	Hi, this is Dacker Keltner. On today's happiness break, we're practicing self-forgiveness.
0:51.7	Research shows that self-forgiveness can reduce anxiety and depression,
0:57.0	lower stress hormones like cortisol, and even improve our physical health.
1:02.0	We also know forgiving ourselves helps break cycles of rumination and self-criticism.
1:09.0	Instead of getting stuck in regret, self-forgiveness allows us to acknowledge
1:13.3	our mistakes with honesty and compassion, and then to move forward with a sense of growth and
1:19.7	responsibility. When you're ready, let's begin.
1:34.1	Find a comfortable position sitting upright but relaxed.
1:39.4	You can close your eyes if that feels right or soften your gaze.
1:47.0	Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
1:59.0	Now bring to mind something you're holding against yourself. Maybe a small mistake, a harsh word, or a decision you regret.
2:06.6	Notice how it feels in your body.
	...

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