I come to tell you how good guilt is. Wonderful stuff. It is the agent of change, the force that nudges us to do differently. Before a person will change, they must decide to change. And, before they will decide to change, they must see the need to change.
Seeing the need to change -- call that guilt, and call guilt good.
But, just how much is the proper dosage? All medicines have dosages. If you overdose, that is not a good thing. The answer? The smallest amount that will bring about the change. You will not be experiencing enough guilt (or at least not experiencing it in the right way), if you do not change.
See, this is the thing about this medicine called guilt. It can be overused. It can be used when not necessary. It can be abused. You've heard of drug abuse? Well, then consider there is such a thing as guilt abuse. Though it can be the most wonderful of medicines, there are dangers in this little friend of ours. Guilt has a dark side. It can destroy a person as easy as it can pick him up.
I come today, to warn you, to ask you to stay clear of this overuse, abuse of guilt. Guilt is the antidote to the mistakes in our lives. But, it must be used, not abused. Never let it tell you that what you have done is inherently who you are. Never let it tell you you cannot change. How you harness this thing called guilt is up to you. You can use it, you can abuse it, or you can toss it aside.
As with all the miracles of modern medicine, if you toss it aside, you will running away from the cure that can save you. Don't do that. As with some other medicines, it must be topically applied. Use it in the mental parts of your mind that are open to change. Do not rub it in on those spots in the mind that will result in believing that you cannot change, that you are no good, and that you are a worthless human being.
If guilt is to be an agent of change, it must be used for change, not for assigning oneself to not being able to change.
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