Judgment - An Unfortunate Act [Blog Post]

[ChrisN]

Judgment - An Unfortunate Act

We all pass judgment too quickly these days, and unfortunately it can land us in a whole world of trouble. Driving in your car to work, you see a person on a motorbike going too fast and you think, 'What an idiot!' For all we know, his wife is giving birth and he isn't there too see it. The problem with judgment is often people make these 'judgments' about others and don't keep an open mind for the person to prove them otherwise.

For instance, one example of 'judging a book by its cover' was when Susan Boyle, a contestant on Britain's Got Talent 2009 broke through the judgments made against her and showed everyone what talent she really had. When she appeared on stage, the judges snickered and made jokes against her and then she opened her mouth and sang... Not one of those judges for a second could believe their eyes and ears, this lady that didn't look like anything special has this amazing voice. What is even better is that they probably felt guilty as hell for being so rude and demoralizing.

Now not every case is like Susan Boyle's and by pushing through you may not land yourself a record deal like she did but showing people that you are more then what meets the eye is a prize in itself and not letting the judgments made by people affect you is probably the most essential step. Remember, a judgment is only an opinion and an opinion is only a theory. A theory isn't a fact and it's your job to prove that theory false.

Written by Christopher Newan

Self Development: Judgment - An Unfortunate Act

What do you guys think?

[Roxon]

Great post!
Suspending judgement is a crucial step to consciously living in the moment.
Ive found that driving, or rather other peoples driving has been my most powerful way of practising suspending judgement. But like everyone, instinctively i pass judgements, its the common way of analysing situations/people i guess.
I dont think though that people have anything to prove to eachother, really.

[Abitofzen]

I enjoyed your post...

Where this strikes me as truly powerful is when we begin to notice all the subtle judgments we make throughout the day... little unchecked assumptions we have running in the back of our mind... about ourselves, the people we love, life, etc.

Once we pay attention at an obvious level... then we can start to notice the subtle as well!

I really had to check myself in traffic. The world is truly our mirror... I used to see someone driving dangerously and think "You idiot... what are you thinking?"

Now, when I see the same thing, I tend to think "Yeah, I'd probably do something like that..."

Due to the way our mind/neurology works, our judgments are reflexive. What we think of others travels through our mind/nervous system, and has an effect on it... which could be why, once it is truly developed, the non-judgmental state feels pretty good as well...

keep smiling,

Ben

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by Abitofzen

I enjoyed your post...

Where this strikes me as truly powerful is when we begin to notice all the subtle judgments we make throughout the day... little unchecked assumptions we have running in the back of our mind... about ourselves, the people we love, life, etc.

Once we pay attention at an obvious level... then we can start to notice the subtle as well!

Exactly! We all do it without meaning to, just a simple glance at someones clothes or car and we judge them.

eg. walking in the parking lot some dude drives past in a ferarri and you thinking, "What a showoff or rich kid" or someone wears a little more then usual black and suddenly, 'GOTHS!'

Just being aware of what we do I am sure we would see how many times we subliminally judge others without meaning too.

[aggie]

subtle judgements about a first impression on someone's dress,etc...for most of that catch ourselves or it just isn't an issue for us...passes quickly. the only harm we do is to ourselves if we hang on to it without letting someone really present themselves to us.

judgement about "idiots" in traffic...well sometimes that is like judging an "idiot" that you see running with blood on themselves. could be hurt and getting help...could've just killed someone and running from the scene. a crazy driver could be having an emergency...but they could also be drunk and a danger to other drivers.

judgement on a lot of posts has been touted as being some evil psychological deformity...it is not always valid, it is not always fair, it can be hurtful, it can be dead wrong...but sometimes quick "judgement" is no more than a quick evaluation of one's surroundings and circumstances and can be a justified way to chose our next step, our next movement in life.

[Abitofzen]

Originally Posted by aggie

subtle judgements about a first impression on someone's dress,etc...for most of that catch ourselves or it just isn't an issue for us...passes quickly. the only harm we do is to ourselves if we hang on to it without letting someone really present themselves to us.
...
...
judgement on a lot of posts has been touted as being some evil psychological deformity...it is not always valid, it is not always fair, it can be hurtful, it can be dead wrong...but sometimes quick "judgement" is no more than a quick evaluation of one's surroundings and circumstances and can be a justified way to chose our next step, our next movement in life.

I don't know if I was one of the posters you were talking about, but I figured I would clarify my point... and I am guilty of using 'judgment' in a vague way.


Some 'judgment' is required to make sense of the world.

The point I was making is to be aware.

And you are right, the negative judgments individually have very little effect, it is their momentum over time.

Just like 'negative' self talk. One statement means almost nothing. One bad day is just one bad day. But over time, these little thoughts or judgments become habitual, and build momentum.

This momentum can serve us... or sabotage us... and this is why I encourage serious self study, and awareness of your thoughts/judgments/feelings/etc.

It has proved very useful for me

keep smiling,

Ben

[AlexL]

Judgment of a kind is also what I believe lies as the true cause of cruelty. Interested readers might want to check out the link below for another perspective on the harm judgment does:

Happiness in this World » The True Cause Of Cruelty