ElenaLents

Ms.Gardner
EnglishPeriod6
12November2015
LettingGoofJudgement,WelcomingAcceptance

Whydowejudgepeople?Italmostseemsimpossibletogoaboutthedayandnotjudgesomeone
orsomethinginsomeway,shapeorform.Judgingothershasbecomesuchacommontendency.How
oftendoyoufindyourselfjudgingothers?Youprobablydoitmuchmorethanyourealizefrequently,it
occurssubconsciously.Itmaynotseemlikeamajorissue,butthejudgmentswemakewilleventuallybe
perceivedasreality.Themindacceptsfalseaccusationsasthetruth,whichcreatesseparationandalack
ofacceptance.Whenjudgingothers,wedrawconclusionsbasedonwhatwehavecreatedinourminds.
Mostfailtoseethatthisprocessishighlysubjective:wearepronetomakingerrorswhenwejudge
others,especiallywhenweneglecttoconsiderthespecificcircumstanceinwhichtheyfindthemselves.
Eventhoughjudgementhasmanyharmfuleffects,itisalsoanecessityoflife.Onemustbeable
todiscernwhatisrightorwrongforthem,whetheritisaperson,anactivity,oraplace.Ithasalways
playedanimportantroleformankind,anditwouldhavebeenastrugglewithoutit.However,wehave
takenittoofar.Ithasmorphedintoatooltoevaluateothersbasedonassumptions.Judgingpeoplebased
ontheirappearanceisentirelyunfairbecausewecannotknowwhattheyaregoingthroughsolelybased
onwhattheylooklike,orhowtheypresentthemselves.Judgingotherpeoplepreventsusfrom
experiencingnewopportunities,aswellasleadstoselfjudgement.Whenwecriticizethelivesofothers,
ourownlivesbecomethethingthatwecriticize.Amajorfactorinselfesteemandconfidenceissuesis
thatwecompareourselvestoothers.Thisresultsindissatisfactionwithourselvesandourlives.Whether
aboutyourselforothers,makingjudgementshasverynegativeeffectsandisarecipeforsuffering.

Sowhatifeveryonemadeanefforttostopjudgingothersandthemselves?Whatifeveryonewas
opentotryingnewthingsandmeetingnewpeople?Itwouldnolongerimpactourperceptions,orour
opinions,orourcuriosity,orourfriendships.Judgementswillalwaysbemadebyeveryone,itis
inevitable.However,therearestepsthatwecantaketohelpend
unfair
judgement.Thefirststepisto
realizeexactlywhenyouaremakingjudgements,andtostopyourself.Next,youhavetobecuriousof
whyyouarejudgingthatperson.Areyourexpectationsofthemunrealistic?Doyouknoweverything
aboutthesituation,orareyoumakingassumptions?Howcanyouhelpthem?Youcannothelpanyone
whilemakingjudgements.Onlywhenyouletgoofit,andlearntobeacceptingandcompassionate,can
youreallyhelpandmakeadifference.Furthermore,youwillbehappierintheprocess.
Somepeoplemaydisagreeandbelievethatjudgingpeopleourmindswillnotcauseproblems
becausenoonesfeelingsarebeinghurt.However,makingjudgementsaffectsourownmentalstateas
well.InanarticleintheJournalofResearchinPersonality,therewasastudythatfoundthatpeoplewho
makenumerousjudgementstendtodevelopunpleasanttraits:Thosewhojudgeothersinarigidwayare
foundtohavelesscharmandappreciationofhumor,andtobelessconsiderateandsympatheticofothers.
Thosewhotendtoascribemoretraitstoothersalsotendtobemoreanxious,lessconfident,andless
capableofdealingwithstressthanothers(Mattiuzzi).Youbringyourselfdownwhenyoubringothers
down.Theoppositeistrueaswell.WakeForestUniversityfoundthatperceivingothersinapositiveway
canpromoteyourownkindness:Thereareparticularlystrongassociationsbetweenpositivelyjudging
othersandhowenthusiastic,happy,kindhearted,courteous,emotionallystableandcapablethepersonis
(Wood).Thewaythatyoudecidetojudgeotherswillreflectonyourownpersonalitytraits.
Myfellowclassmates,stoprestrictingyourselffromamazingopportunites,stopfocusingonthe
negatives,andstoplimitingyourenjoymentoflife.Imagineaworldwithoutjudgement.Imaginebeing
abletoliveinaplacewhereyoucoulddowhateveryouplease,andnoonewouldjudgeyou.Imagine
beingabletolookinthemirroreverymorningandnothaveanyinsecurities.Youcouldfeelwhateveryou

arefeeling,andhavepassionsforwhateveryouwishwithoutthefearofbeingjudged.Youcouldgofrom
insecuretoconfident,judgementaltoaccepting.Withthissimplechangeofmindset,youmayfindthatas
opposedtobattlingthingsyoudislike,youareallowingandacceptingthem.Judgementwillneverbe
completelygone,butlimitinginsensitivejudgementswillpromoteacceptance:thegatewaytohappiness.

WorksCited
Mattiuzzi,PaulG."ThosePeopleArelikeThis,ThesePeopleArelikeThat...OurTendencyto
"ascribe"TraitstoOthers."
EverydayPsychology
.Blogger,6Jan.2010.Web.10Nov.2015

Wood,Dustin."HowPositivelyYouSeeOthersIsLinkedtoHowHappy,KindheartedandEmotionally
StableYouAre."
ScienceDaily
.WakeForestUniversity,3Aug.2010.Web.15Nov.2015.