Judgmental as a four-letter-word

If you ask someone for mantras to being a better person, one of the things on their list will most probably be — Never Be Judgmental. And it’s appears to be a very obvious thing that one should do. We all know how easy it is to spend time judging others for what they do, what they say, what they wear, what they eat, whatever. But, we also know that everyone has their own lives to battle through, and you’re probably being unfair to them by just judging on one aspect visible to you.

So yes, one would be a better person if one stops being judgmental and lets people just be.

But have you ever considered how difficult it is to truly do that?

Think about it. For example, an elder in my family, whom I respect a lot, is convinced that by giving up something dear to them, they can coax or urge the powers that be into solving some problems. So for example, I really love coffee, but I’m going through a bad phase where my stock investments are losing a lot of money. I promise to give up coffee, and the powers that be ensure that my losses reduce. A lot of people (including me) would smirk, or even outright laugh at such a notion. I don’t need to agree with the concept, but if I truly truly “Non-Judgmental”, I have to accept that I shouldn’t be deriding someone’s beliefs, no matter how obvious their fallacy may be. I should basically not tell them, directly or indirectly, to give up even this superstition. Because hey, no judging means No Judging…

Tell me, isn’t that difficult?! But, to be a better person I must not judge. Ever.

And when you ask someone to not be judgmental, aren’t you yourself in a way judging them for being judgmental!

The point is that taking the “Never Be Judgmental” ideology to an extreme, can actually back fire. If everyone just accepted everyone else’s ways we would have no debates, no thinkers, no development, no breaking-the-mold. Just being. So, let’s not Never Be Judgmental. Let’s just aim to be a little more understanding than we are. And keep ourselves some room for a good old fashioned judgement-ing when it’s truly needed.