Once you begin to understand, or at least think you kind of understand, try to accept. If not, try to imagine the circumstances that might have led to the person acting or looking like they do.Īccept. Instead of judging someone for what he’s done or how he looks, try instead to understand the person. Once you’re more aware, you can then stop yourself when you feel yourself being judgmental. This takes a greater awareness than we usually have, so the first step (and an important one) is to observe your thoughts for a few days, trying to notice when you’re being judgmental. If you find yourself being judgmental, stop yourself. I know, acronyms for methods are corny, but so what? :) This method is corny already, but sometimes corny is a good thing.ĭon’t pass judgment. If you’re interested in that, let’s take a look at one method I’ve been using. But I’ve found that taking that extra time, even just once a day, can make a huge difference.Īvoid passing judgment and instead build a bridge between two human beings. That takes time and effort, two things we’re usually short on anyways. And that’s the end of it - we don’t try to find out more, and through communication begin to understand, and through understanding begin to build a bridge between two human beings.Ĭan you build a bridge with every single person you meet? Probably not. We see something they do, and get angry at it, or disappointed in the person, or think worse of them. We don’t make an effort to get to know the person, or understand them, or see whether our judgment was right or not.Īnd let’s consider what happens when we pass judgment on people we do know. And that’s it - that’s usually the extent of our interaction with that person. Think about it for a second: we see someone, and based on their looks or actions, we pass judgment on them. We look down on others, as if we are so much better … and that creates division between people. I think it’s human nature.Īnd yet, while it is in our nature to be judgmental, I don’t think it’s always useful to us. “I am grateful that I am not as judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.” – anonymous By Leo Babauta “Be curious, not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman
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