Criticism has many directions including others, yourself, various situations. Many times we form a habit of judgmental thinking which can lead you down a dangerous path of negativity and all that comes with it.
How does judging affect you?
- It decreases your own happiness. Judging usually involves negative emotions and thoughts. Therefore you are making it hard for yourself to see the positive aspects.
- You are not only hurting others, you are harming yourself too. Because of the negativity caused by your judgmental or criticizing thoughts and actions, friendships, relationship or work connections may be destroyed.
- You become more critical of yourself. By being in a negative mindset you attract negativity in your life too. Simply by making your self-talk negative your self-confidence plummets.
How to Avoid Judging:
- Notice when you’re judging. The first step is to monitor your thoughts. Notice how much time you spend on judging and criticizing, both yourself and others.
- Recognize the feelings. You probably don’t enjoy being judged by others, and remembering these feelings can help you avoid doing it yourself.
- “There’s a story behind every person. There’s a reason why they’re the way they are. Think about that before you judge anyone.” Ziad. K Abdelnour.
- Learn to accept. Everyone has faults, idiosyncrasies, and issues. Learn to accept these challenges you see in others without judging them or making them feel bad.
- Work toward accepting your own faults as well.
As human beings, judging will come naturally. However if you learn accept you will lead a more positive life. Judging clouds our vision and leaves no room in seeing any positive aspect out of different situations.
And one of my favorite quotes on judging:
“When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.” Louis Nizer.
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