Ask Dr. Forgiveness

Is anger really all that bad to have? I find that it energizes me.

We need to distinguish between healthy anger the kind, as you say, that energizes you, and excessive or toxic anger that lasts too long and is too deep.  If your anger is not bringing you down, and if it energizes you, then you are right.  The anger is not bad, especially if it does not prohibit you from considering forgiveness.

If I commit to do no harm to the other person who hurt me, but if I deliberately harbor anger inside, thus probably hurting myself, is this true forgiveness?

It is not a completed forgiveness, but you likely are in the process of forgiving.  You need to realize that as you forgive, you may have some anger left over.  Even if you deliberately are harboring anger, and if you have decided to do no harm, then you are in an early phase of forgiving, probably the Decision Phase.

What does it mean to “do no harm” to another?

This has a very wide meaning.  In its deepest meaning, “do no harm” means to make a commitment (and to follow through on this) not to seek actual revenge.  There is a commitment to avoid physical harm.  On a lighter level, it can mean deliberately deciding not to talk negatively toward or about the one who hurt you.