The Complex Reasons behind Our Propensity to Judge: An Analytical Examination

The Complex Reasons behind Our Propensity to Judge: An Analytical Examination

In this article, we will explore why we, as human beings, seemingly have an innate tendency to judge others and ourselves. We will delve into key reasons behind this propensity, providing a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon, while offering actionable insights on how to avoid unnecessary judgements.

Judgment, a cognitive process where we form opinions through comparison, is an integral part of the decisions we make. These decisions are essential in directing our lives constructively. However, it's our deeply-rooted beliefs that often obfuscate the direct path to what we really aspire to.

The Basis of Judgement

Judgments primarily stem from our thoughts about people, situations, and things around us; serving as filters which color our view of the world. Every circumscribed belief we harbor, particularly about what we perceive as our abilities and limitations, is essentially a form of judgment. We might conjecture that we are steering our lives with our judgments, but often, it's the other way around.

Judgments can serve as a divisive tool that separates people instead of fostering unity. They significantly influence how we present our business or work, affecting interactions with clients, associates, and strategic partners. To comprehend how this happens, it is essential to delve into the underlying reasons for our proclivity to judge.

The Underpinnings of Judgement

Upon reflection, we can identify several key factors contributing to why we judge:

1. Lack of love: Mother Teresa once said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them". This emphasizes the mutually exclusive nature of love and judgment. When you entertain judgments, you leave little space for empathy and love.
2. Insecurity: Insecure people strive to build a secure world around them, pinning their sense of security on their perceived control. Their judgment gets triggered when something or someone could potentially disrupt this precariously balanced status quo. The key to mitigating this is understanding that the only real control we wield is over our thoughts.
3. Influence of past conditioning: Our judgments are often formed by inherited beliefs—shaped by our parents, teachers, cultural institutions, and past experiences. Unfortunately, these are often based on misinformation or fear. Overcoming this requires self-awareness, interrogation of our thoughts, and embracing what we have personally come to believe.
4. Fear of others: We judge others out of a perceived fear of their power or knowledge, which might threaten our perceived self-worth or position. The remedy here lies in accepting others, fostering open communication, and maintaining a spirit of curiosity and inquiry.
5. Internal fear: At times, our judgments manifest when we fail to confront something within ourselves—our perceived inadequacies, fears, and insecurities. These judgments often reflect how we judge ourselves. To overcome this, we need to have the courage to introspect and confront our fears constructively.
6. Hiding ignorance: Judgment is commonly used as a façade to conceal one's ignorance. Rather than letting fear guide you, embracing learning and opening lines of communication are conducive to replacing judgment with understanding and empathy.
7. Power threat: People commonly resort to judgments when their perceived power is threatened. This may result from a low self-esteem, where one's self-worth stems from how others perceive them. The path to resolution commences by recognizing this reaction, followed by fostering a secure self-value system.
8. Unawareness of thought impact: With societal evolution, we're increasingly understanding that our thoughts mold our reality. Judgments, unfortunately, create divisions predicated on notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, 'winners' and 'losers. A shift to focussing on positivity is a healthier choice, directing thoughts to foster happiness and progress towards life goals.
9. Lack of empathy: More evolved beings emphasize love, acceptance, and understanding. Those harboring a judgmental disposition, likely due to their conflicted philosophical outlook, struggle with accepting others. Contemplating and living true to one's beliefs helps alleviate this issue.
10. Habitual judgement: Finally, judgment can form as a habit—however, behavior engrained through unconscious repetitiveness can be consciously unlearned. This calls for understanding the roots of the habit (fear for judgment), aspiring and visualizing the change desired, and discipline to see the change through.

Ascertaining the root cause is the first step to tackling human tendency to judge. Then follows the dedication for introspection, effort for change, and possibly seeking professional support to steadily move towards a less judgemental and more empathetic mindset.