Stop Making Negative Judgemental Assumptions About People You Encounter

“How would your life be different if. . . you stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day. . . you look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.” ~ Steve Maraboli …

How we treat others in our life says a lot about the quality of our character. When we pass judgment on others with negative assumptions, we serve only to bring them down instead of building them up. Over time, these judgments come to define us as a person who needs to judge others. Additionally, when we pass judgment on others we negatively affect our own experience in life as we begin to isolate ourselves and create a negative perspective of the world around us. This does not have to be the case, though, as Steve points out with his encouraging words “let today be the day!”

When we judge others, we are essentially holding them to our standards, which often times are nearly unattainable, and generally not even applicable in their lives. It seems almost silly that one would demand the respect of others… yet at the same time not offer the same respect back in return. But that is precisely what happens when we pass judgment on others for their faults and shortcomings.

Let today be the day we choose to look for the good in everyone we meet and show them the respect we too desire. When we live our lives in such a way that shows respect to the journey others are travelling in life, we find the same respect afforded back to us. It really is best summed up in the words of a man who came a couple thousand years ago: “Love one another, as I have loved you.”

Show respect to everyone you interact with today. Treat them as if they were you… and you them.

Questions to consider:

Do others judge you? How does that make you feel? Do you make others feel that way when you judge them?

Where does the desire to judge others come from?

How would your life be different if you were to give up judging others completely?

For further thought:

“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.” ~ Dave Barry