I come from a famously guilt-ridden culture, the Greeks! The comedic view of guilt was well portrayed in the blockbuster hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Greeks, aren't the only ones riddled with guilt.

For much of my life, I detested guilt and wondered why others made me feel guilt, and mostly why I made myself feel guilty. I've been cruel to myself enough. I think most of us are hard on ourselves. If my memory fails me, I feel bad about it. If I blew my diet I regret it and feel guilty. It's so easy to feel guilty, and it's not so easy to let things slide.

Then, I heard someone say that the purpose of guilt was to change bad behavior. A light bulb went off. What I heard gave guilt more meaning. It wasn't just being cruel to myself by having guilty feelings. I only recognized behaviors I wanted to change. It's unfortunate when other people try to change your behavior with guilt instead of a constructive conversation.

Now, I won't feel guilty about feeling guilty, and instead, I'll try to acknowledge the behavior I'd like to change for a more productive method of dealing with guilt. I hope you will do the same because you can!