When Guilt Is Good

Guilt gets a bad wrap. There are times when a little proactive guilt can help us make the right choice.

Guilt is a distressing emotion. No one wants to experience it. It causes feelings of regret and responsibility, and can result in sadness, disappointment or a sense of personal moral failure.

But guilt has benefits, according to recent research. Will Bynum, associate professor of family medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine, says, “We now have a new concept of guilt as a potential source for growth. It can point us toward actions we can take to improve our lives.”

Guilt may distress us, but it makes us aware of what we could or should have done. It reminds us that we have a conscience.

In so many ways, guilt can be good.

Writing in The Washington Post, a 72-year-old named Bob Brody says, “My lifelong guilt trip has evolved into a guilty pleasure of sorts. Guilt fuels me with fresh incentive to do and be better. It forces me to recognize my mistakes, fulfill my obligations and apologize to those I’ve wronged. My guilt insistently steers me...