Letting go of resentment and anger can be hard work. Sometimes, a guideline we can follow along to work through our feelings can make this process a little easier. That’s why you can find a collection of “letting go of resentment worksheets” here. Pick your favorite one and let it help you!

(Just to make sure we are on the same page here: these are letting go worksheets for adults!)

Related: 15 actionable tips to conquer self-doubt

The basic steps of working through resentment

We’ve all been at a point where we’ve wondered how to let go of anger and resentment. As so often with important things, it will require quite some emotional work on your part.

In order to overcome and release your resentment, you first need to become aware of it. You want to look closely at why you feel this way, what triggered it and who might be the target of your resentful feelings. Then you need to find a new way of dealing with your anger.

With all these steps, try to be compassionate with yourself. Coming from a place of self-love will make the process much easier.

But now, let’s look at the resentment worksheets! All of them help you with some or all of these steps. Have a look!

1. Review of resentments worksheet PDF by 2b1institute.com

This resentment worksheet pdf is perfect for anyone who likes tables and spreadsheets. (Me!) You will work through the following 4 steps, one by one:

  1. Write down anything or anyone from your past who bothered you in some way.
  2. List the specific cause for your feelings.
  3. Look at the list of “life attributes” and see which of them are affected by your feelings. Make a cross there.
  4. Do the same for the list of “my part in this”-attributes.

By reviewing this information, you will notice your own patterns. And it will help you to see how resentment is negatively impacting your life and help you let go of it.

Find the overcoming resentment worksheet here.

2. Forgiveness worksheet from presentcenteredtherapy.com

“Present Centered Therapy” is the website of Cort Curtis, a Californian psychologist.  His worksheet takes you through these steps of forgiving and letting go of resentment:

  1. Describing and confronting the situation for which you feel resentment.
  2. Describing the feelings around it, Understanding your thoughts and behaviors, and putting it in relation to your beliefs, expectations, and perceptions.
  3. Then taking responsibility, seeing what the resentment is doing to you, and developing new perspectives and ways of dealing with it.

This forgiveness worksheet is very detailed and gives a lot of helpful pointers. Find it here.

3. The 6 steps to letting go of resentment by Ellen Hartson

This letting go of resentment worksheet uses a 6-step process to help you stop being resentful. The 6 steps you will be working through are:

  1. Identifying your resentments
  2. Describe, what causes these angry feelings
  3. Understand how you behaved in the situation
  4. See if any of your behaviors contributed to what happened
  5. Find out if you can forgive yourself and see growth from this
  6. Ask yourself what you need to let go of to free yourself from resentment

Find the letting go worksheet here.

4. Resentment worksheet from diriseborough.com

This PDF actually consists of several worksheets, taking you through various exercises to help you overcome resentment.

The first worksheet is an awareness exercise, during which you will write down all your thoughts and feelings.

Related: Help yourself: How to leverage mindfulness meditation

The second worksheet has you work on your willingness and ability to forgive.

On the third worksheet, you’ll actually confront your feelings of anger and write down your revenge fantasies. While this might sound like dwelling in it, it’s actually to recognize that they are fantasies, nothing more.

Worksheet four has you acknowledging all the times in the past when you hurt or disappointed someone yourself. Understand that we all make mistakes and forgive yourself.

Find this overcoming resentment worksheet here.

5. Resentment exercise from MindBodyGreen.com

This article by Caroline Rushforth is not really a worksheet like these other resentment PDFs, but it does contain a short exercise to help you find forgiveness, both for yourself or someone else.

Sometimes changing your perspective is all you need to overcome resentment.

Do the letting go of resentment exercise here.

6. How to let go of resentment by Lifehack.org

Similar to the above article, this one is not really a worksheet, but still contains a step by step guide to letting go of resentment. The author has you

  1. list all “targets” of your resentment
  2. add the reasons for your anger
  3. write down how this affects you
  4. see what part you played in this

Basically, the same steps displayed in the letting go of resentments pdf by the 2b1institute (1st in this list).

Read the article here.

7. Handling Resentment by James J. Messina, Ph.D.

This page doesn’t look like a typical worksheet either, but that’s only the format. It does take you through some thought exercises and then five steps to overcome resentment.

Work through the five steps for letting go of resentments here.

8. Four steps to forgiveness worksheet by the Global Forgiveness Initiative

As the title suggests, this worksheet takes you through four steps to achieve forgiveness. These are:

  1. Who and what you need to forgive
  2. Writing affirmations to release your feelings
  3. Write down how forgiveness will benefit you
  4. and create commitment statements

All of this together creates your “forgiveness declaration” which you will use to practice forgiveness for a chosen timeframe.

Do the steps for letting go of resentments here.

Got another “letting go of resentments” worksheet I should add?

I hope these forgiveness worksheets are helpful to you. If you have a good one I should add to this list, just let me know in the comments!

And while you work through these steps, make sure to be kind to yourself and let go of perfectionism. Good luck on your journey!

Related: How to overcome perfectionism: 7 tips

Do you have trouble letting go of resentment and are you wondering how to deal with it? Try out these 8 "letting go of resentment" worksheets. They will help you overcome bitterness and anger and show you a new perspective!