I’ve asked thousands of workshop participants what qualities they would want in a helper. While there’s a list of common responses, being nonjudgmental would usually make the top three.
Yet humans tend to make a lot of judgements. Go on social media and you’d maybe think that’s all we do. And one of our favourite pastimes seems to be judging other people for appearing to judge other people.
We can all benefit from reviewing the judgements we make, through self reflection, guidance or feedback. We can question the assumptions behind them and own them as ours rather than universal truths. We could all expand our capacity for understanding and acceptance.
And maybe that starts with just not being so surprised we, or someone else, was a bit judgy. And perhaps the end game isn’t to stop the judging altogether, but more to make room for a more considered, less reactive response when it happens.
Helen Mentha 