Not Qualified to Judge

My 2014 Resolution

What is good judgement? It makes judgement sound like a skill that can be developed; like archery or baking. What makes judgement good though? Does it have to do with making judgements that everyone agrees with? Does it have to do with morality, and being able to make moral decisions? Is there a difference between making ‘judgements’ and making ‘decisions’?

I had a work-related resolution last year; and spent most of 2013 thinking about what would make a better resolution for 2014. I really examined the things that were not contributing to making me a better person. Although I never thought of myself as a judgemental person, I found that when I really looked at myself, I was making judgements about people all the time. When I became aware of it, I started thinking about how much better I’d feel if I was much less judgemental.

I was all set to make it my 2014 resolution. “I’ll become less judgemental.” But I got to thinking; if judgements are just decisions — I need to define what kinds of judgements are bad … and, well, this weird logic eventually resulted in me questioning whether it was a noble goal, to be less judgemental, or just a stupid idea. I want to have good judgement. But there are things, that if you have good judgement, you’ll judge yourself to be unqualified to judge.

I believe there are things that everyone is qualified to judge; things that some people are qualified to judge, and things that no one is qualified to judge. So, for 2014, my resolution is to identify those things that no one is qualified to judge — and strip them from my reality. For instance, I don’t like generalizations about groups of people, and believe those are judgements that no one is qualified to make. (i.e. women are less smart than men.) As I identify these things, I want to figure out how to remove them from my mind, as concepts. For this instance, I’m going to try to get to know people on an individual level, make judgements about people based on our experiences, rather than perception.

In tandem, I want to hone my own judgement about things I am qualified to judge. I think this will be the big challenge of the year. I’ve spent my life avoiding situations that could be uncomfortable, but I believe I need to expose myself to different types of situations in order to improve the judgement I have over the decisions I make.

Honestly, I’m content with my life. I’m happy doing the things I do. I don’t have any desire to experience many things. It’s this complacency that has helped drive my 2014 resolution. “The chains of habit are too light to be felt, until they are too heavy to be broken.” I want to become a good person before it’s too hard.