Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
President Russell M. Nelson, "We Can Do Better and Be Better", Ensign, May 2019
I'm still trying to tell myself that repentance isn't a negative thing. I still get some apprehension and anxiety with that. Because I've always associated repentance with punishment.
I know it's not that way at all though. It's just a chemical response that happens physiologically. I know repentance is a positive change, a step towards Christ. That's how I look at it mentally and spiritually, but my mortal body still needs to catch up. But that's how this mortal life is anyway...trying to get our physical bodies under control of our spirits. Mine is just a bit of a mess in many ways, but I'm getting there.
But I will say, repentance makes me feel free and at peace, so that apprehension and anxiety is gone after my daily change, until the next day when I do it again. 😊 But, with each step, I am getting to be more Christlike. Slowly, but surely.