An overly judging attitude at the workplace or in personal relationships can foster a negative and toxic environment, which can often lead to conflict.

When we’re habitually too quick to make assumptions about others, we can often misunderstand a situation and cause ourselves harm in the long term.

Let’s talk about how to judge less.

How To Judge Less

How Does A Judgmental Person Act?

Being a judgmental person essentially means thinking, speaking, or behaving in a manner that reflects a critical point of view.

When one is judgmental, they’re critically nitpicking and finding faults with another person, group of people, idea, or situation.

What Is Being Judgmental In Psychology And Evolutionary Terms?

Being judgmental means looking at things through a lens of criticism.

Judgment is in fact necessary from an evolutionary and survival point of view.  Judging is an instinct that we as humans formed a long time ago to defend ourselves from situations that could cause us harm. 

It’s a cognitive ability that helps us assess people, situations, and relationships based on the sensory evidence available to us and allows us to come to conclusions and make decisions.

What Do You Call A Person Who Judges Easily?

Being overly judgmental is usually thought of as a negative trait, often used to describe someone who often rushes to judgment without reason.

The adjective judgmental describes someone who forms lots of opinions, usually harsh or critical ones, about a lot of people.

Judgmental types are often not considered open-minded or easygoing.

Why Am I So Judgmental?

Judging others may often make us feel superior.  Tearing other people down is one the most common ways people use to prop themselves up.

By judging others in a harsh manner, we compare ourselves to them and feel superior.

But ultimately being judgmental is often a self-esteem problem. By finding something to dislike or condemn about others, we’re protecting ourselves from being vulnerable, avoiding our own faults, or inflating our egos with false self-worth.

How Do You Know If You Are Judgy?

• You’re too quick to make assumptions.
• You always think you’re right.
• You may have a superiority complex.
• You’re always quick to criticize.
• You can never see both sides of the story.
• You don’t bother getting to know someone before passing judgement.

Why Is Judging Bad?

The more we judge others, the more we may be judging ourselves.

With constantly seeing the bad in others, we train our minds to find the bad.

This can lead to an increase in stress, which we know can weaken the immune system and cause high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, or anxiety.

How Do I Stop Judging So Fast?

Start by practicing mindfulness in any given situation.

The more we can focus on existing in the moment, the easier it will be to let go of our negative judgments.

Sometimes we might judge others based on our own past choices or perceived shortcomings. If we can be more mindful, we can assess the current situation in the present context.

What Is The Root Cause Of Judgmental People?

As mentioned, it can start with feelings of inadequacy.

Feelings of inadequacy tend to be closely related to insecurity, another reason for a judgmental mentality.

If someone feels insecure about something, they may be more likely to mock or belittle others who have a healthier, or simply different approach.

How Do I Become Less Judgmental In A Relationship?

Instead of judging someone for what they’ve done or how they look, try instead to understand the person.

Once you begin to understand, try to accept the situation as it is, then decide if it’s something acceptable to you or not.

Final Thoughts

By judging others harshly, we also invite others to do the same to us.

It can lead to even more criticism and negativity that erodes trust, respect and empathy which are essential for healthy relationships.

Thanks for reading please comment or follow the links.

Sources and other reading:

Ways To Be Less Judgmental

How To Show Compassion

What Can Body Language Tell Us

How To Follow Our Intuition

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