How to Live Freely without Judgment
We all catch ourselves judging other people at times, although some do it much more than others. Whether it’s the way a person looks, the things they say, or the things that they choose to do, we find ourselves critiquing other people for their shortcomings or the ways that they differ from us and our beliefs. Oftentimes we even judge others for their words or actions that are not so different from our own, but what does this judgment get us? The only people that we can truly control is ourselves, so no amount of judgment will cause others to change. The more that we can try to live our lives with no judgment, the freer and better we will feel. We are Murk Resource and today we would like to discuss the best ways to live life with no judgment.
Use Mindfulness to Check Yourself
Letting go of judgment can be challenging and even scary at times, but it often clouds our minds and prevents us from having authentic connection with ourselves and those around us. Mindfulness is one of the best ways to start freeing yourself from judgment. Mindfulness is helpful in identifying your strengths, but also in identifying your judgments and weaknesses. Using mindfulness to become more aware of our thoughts and feelings allows us to analyze them more closely and be more in tune with our mind. Therefore, you can become more mindful of your judgments by noticing them when they first cross your mind. Once you are aware of your judgments, you can more actively work towards silencing that judgment. This doesn’t mean that you have to accept all of the things that you would normally judge, especially things that go against your personal values, it just means that you will be able to accept things with less of an emotional response.
Mindfulness in Action
For example, let’s say that you are very against smoking cigarettes and you often find yourself thinking less of people who smoke and finding it gross to smell the scent of tobacco or see people litter their butts on the ground. Normally, this might make you respond emotionally and judge them out of anger, frustration, or disgust. However, if you practice mindfulness and start to check yourself as these thoughts fill your head, you can begin to let them go and approach the situation differently. Instead of getting emotional and judging them, you can just observe the fact that they are smoking and choose to let them live their lives, even though they are making decisions that you wouldn’t make yourself. And while you are no longer judging them, you don’t have to accept their use of tobacco smoke either; you can avoid walking close to them so that you don’t have to smell it, and just continue on with your life.
The Power of Different Opinions
Judgmental people usually don’t have inner peace of their own. When we let judgment influence our decisions too much, it can be very constricting and limiting. Judgment does not allow much room for change, and when you judge anyone who thinks or acts differently than you, that only allows there to be one answer to every issue in life. Respecting your own opinions as well as those of other people is hugely important to freeing yourself from judgment. If you are constantly pushing your ideas and beliefs on others, then you are allowing your strict judgments to control your life. Even if someone else’s opinion or way of life differs from yours, you will find more inner peace by projecting outer peace; by not being so emotional and judgmental towards others you will in turn be living more freely internally.
Remember that Nobody is Perfect
As we mentioned, living judgmentally is to live thinking that there is only one answer to everything. The truth is, nobody is perfect and we cannot measure everyone to a conceived idea of perfection and judge them when they fall short. The different opinions that people have might lead them to think or act in a way that they think is more beneficial for their life, while it might be conflicting with your own views or ways of life. That is okay! Everyone makes mistakes and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. One trick is to catch yourself every time you are about to judge someone and think of an imperfection or flaw of your own that is equivalent. This exercise can be humbling, but it allows us to not be as judgmental and live a more peaceful life.
For example, let’s say that you are judging someone for eating too much junk food that is bad for their body. Perhaps recently you consumed a lot of alcohol, which is also really bad for your body. While these things aren’t the same, they are equivalent imperfections, and as you consider your own choice of consuming something unhealthy, it might humble you into not judging someone else for their choice to consume something unhealthy. The roles can be reversed too. If you find that you are judging yourself, remember that other people aren’t perfect either and you might be less inclined to judge yourself.
Contact Us and Be Free of Judgment!
Murk Resource is a judgment-free organization and we are here to help you learn how to live your life without judgments of your own. If you are ready for a more peaceful life free of judging others, then send us a message to get started! You can also give our team a call at (847) 662-8044. We look forward to working with you and allowing you to break free of your judgment once and for all!
