Who are You to Judge?

People are just judgement right? It’s just in our nature. But is it right? Is it okay to be judgemental?

As an empath, I also judge but understand the importance of understanding the whole picture before coming to a conclusion. It takes patience and requires you to always step back to ensure that your judgement is a rational one.

Let’s break it down…the judgement…we are breaking it down:

1. We judge people based on what we see. First impressions are everything right? But how many of us have heard of the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover?” We as humans seem to be unconsciously biased. We have values and stereotypes that we project onto others with no filter to stop and think if these perceptions are even fair to those around us.
2. Our judgement can be misconstrued. As humans, we are great at judging. But we can sometimes judge wrongly. We misinterpret or misunderstand a situation, a conversion or a person’s character because we don’t take the time to listen, stand still and observe. We tend to be closed-minded more than we think we are.
3. Sometimes we let our emotions get in the way. When you are highly emotionally charged, you will be more judgemental. There’s no denying when you are sad or angry, you will judge situations more negatively and when happy or excited, you will judge more positively than the situation at hand deserves.
4. We perceive ourselves of high importance. This is not true for all people however there are a group of people out there that believe for some reason or other that they significant to others. These people are usually taught this unhealthy, judgemental behaviour from a young age. Without going into too much detail or psychology, these people have been raised to believe they are special, above other demographic and socioeconomic statuses. They are quick to judge anyone who does not fall into their ideal perception.

To conclude, I think it is very important to be aware when judging people and situations. There is a need to listen, rationalise and understand before passing judgement. It is unfair to those you judge and also unfair to yourself. You could miss an opportunity to be that person’s friend, go on an adventure with that stranger and benefit from the situation at hand.

Judging is not a bad thing for the most part. You need to make judgements but conscious judgments. The world isn’t always positive and neither should your perception on everything. It’s a matter of weeding out the bad from the good and to do this you must start from within. You must start by resetting your cognitive biases and your unconscious stereotypes.

When we learn to open our minds and truly take in things for what they are, we see the world in a different light and are more aware of our surroundings.

And with a conscious judgement, please share your thoughts on this topic.

People are too quick to pass judgement, and too slow to self reflect.

Rachel DeAlto

*Please note that this article is based on my personal experiences, opinions and knowledge.