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The limits of judgment
The mind is an amazing thing. When used with intention, it is a tool with great strength and great ability. However, when it’s allowed to wander willy nilly, it can create all sorts of havoc, including judgment. It can pass judgment with stunning speed. Even before we know what’s happening, the mind is thinking things like “I can’t believe she left the house looking like that.” Or “Where the hell did he learn how to drive?!” I’m sure you’ve had a thought or two like those.
The idea that occurred to me recently is that being judgmental can be limiting. I initially thought of it as limiting because it assumes there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. That doesn’t always leave a lot of room for creativity or innovation. Why is my way the only right way to do something? Well actually, it’s not.
The next step in the evolution of that idea is that my being judgmental is most limiting to myself because every time I pass judgment on someone, I remind myself how readily people can pass judgment and that makes me a bit less likely to take action. Then I just get annoyed with the whole thing because on some level I don’t really care what others think but then I’m reminded, every time one of those dark thoughts darkens the doorstep of my mind, that I obviously have opinions about everything so other people probably do to and knowing that can be daunting.
It seems rather ironic that one of the ways to free myself from feeling judged is to stop judging others.
What sort of affect does being judgmental have on you?