Let’s be truthful with ourselves. We judge. We just do. It’s human nature. Judgements directly feed our assumptions about the world we live in. Some of us are harsher with our judgements. Some of us are working diligently to be more empathetic and give others the benefit of the doubt. Some judgements are based entirely on speculation. But make no mistake, we all do it. Instantly. Often.
I just got back from walking in the park. Along the way, there was dog poop on the path. I instantly had opinions about the irresponsible dog owner that I don’t even know! Yet, on more than one occasion, I have been left bagless after walking a dog that pooped once or twice at the beginning of the walk. Who was I to judge at this moment? And what good did it do? Luckily, after the initial judgement, I directed my thoughts to scan more possibilities that might temper my reaction. I could have extrapolated and assumed that most dog owners were disrespectful. But I chose to instead disengage my assumption. We all have that choice; but still, we can’t avoid the fact that we all judge. It’s impossible not to.
Yet people hate being judged and will do anything to avoid it. I hear a lot of people complaining about being judged, without much thought about how they themselves judge others. But we can’t speculate that someone is judging us and then curse them for it while judging them at the same time. And have you noticed that even when we have no proof that someone is judging us, we are certain that they are? So how can we think that standing still is going to prevent people from making assumptions about us? Like if we were somehow invisible, we could escape the torture of being judged. Sounds like a good excuse not to do anything, doesn’t it? Except that people are still judging us, no matter what we do…guaranteed.
So how about this: let’s all just accept the fact that it’s human nature to pass judgement. You do it, I do it, we all do it. The quicker we accept that, the quicker we can get on with our lives. So no more excuses, no more holding back. Move forward and create a life that you can be proud of. Wear what you want to wear. Be who you want to be. No longer will the fear of being judged hold you back!
