Why We Judge and How to Use It To Your Advantage

Have you noticed how the way we judge others is a reflection of the judgement we have towards ourselves? Did you know that people act as mirrors reflecting our own personal fears? We use judgement and comparison to highlight and reaffirm the things we do not like about ourselves. What we fail to realise in judgement is that we are all more alike than we are different, each and every one of us fighting our own personal battles.

Judgement can help us create better self awareness as it often has more to say about ourselves than those we are judging. If we can notice what our judgements are reflecting in us, we can learn to be more understanding – both of ourselves and to those we’ve been judging.

Negative emotions and reactions tend to hold us back (much like blame keeps us as victims), whereas things like introspection and inspiration create drive and change. Instead of judging, how great would it be if we could acknowledge that we are all a work in progress, perfectly imperfect by nature? We can still notice things we may not be in agreement with, but with awareness we allow ourselves to do so from a place of compassion instead of comparison.

Notice the next time you are judging someone and ask yourself what about those faults is a reflection in you. Those you judge are gifts of introspection so look within next time you’re inclined to critique.