The 10 reasons to stop judging others

Tips to avoid falling into the easy way when considering others.

Falling into stereotypes, deciding through heuristics, labeling... Human beings are not very fond of trying to get to know people as much as possible before getting an idea about them. That's what we'll talk about today.

Judging others: a common occurrence

It is not uncommon to judge others knowing little about them. Even though we don't like to be judged incorrectly, it is common to judge other people all the time. We are constantly being judged and judgingWe judge ourselves constantly, often without even realizing the harm we are doing. Worst of all, we spend so much time judging others that we often don't invest the time to look at ourselves and recognize our own limitations. our own limitations.

To understand the causes of why we judge or criticize othersScientists have long been investigating which areas of the brain act when we do so.

We rely on biases and trivialities.

Neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe, a researcher specializing in analyzing the neural and psychological bases of social cognition at the Massachusetts Institute of Medicine, found that there is a particular area of the brain that is activated when we try to understand why others act the way they act. This area is called the temporoparietal junctionand is located between the temporal lobe and the parietal lobe of the brain. It appears that this region plays a fundamental role in the processes of distinction between the self and others..

On the other hand, a curious study published in Trend in Cognitive Sciencesstates that people assess a person's intentions and attribute a certain personality or character to him or her based largely on the traits of their face. Thus, they argue that people tend to make important decisions, from voting for a politician to blaming or judging someone without knowing them, based on such arbitrary and subtle elements as facial features.

10 reasons not to judge others

Because judging others in the wrong way can be harmful, in today's article we give you some tips on how not to judge others.. Let's get started.

1. Think before you act

Many times we get carried away by what external appearances tell us and other times we get carried away by our hearts. and other times we let ourselves be carried away by hunches.. It is important that we stop for a few seconds and analyze the situation well. If we are going to judge someone, let it be with all the evidence on the table.

2. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a third generation therapy based on techniques born from Buddhism. But Mindfulness, far from being a technique, is a philosophy that has as its premise: "do not judge others or yourself. It has been proven that adopting an attitude of compassion and "non-judgment" positively affects the well-being of the person who practices this philosophy.

3. No one is perfect

Try to be more tolerant of others. You may not approve of something someone has done, but unless it is something horrible, live and let live. Everyone makes mistakes, it is not good to judge others because you think you would do it differently.

4. Remember that we are not all the same

Following on from the previous point, not everyone is the same. Each person is different and deserves respect. Culture, family, friends, the education we receive, we all have a different story to tell. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's wrong. We are equal in our differences, we must respect each other and try to help each other.

5. Look at yourself

If instead of spending more time judging and criticizing others, you spend more time looking at yourself, you will realize that you are not perfect either. you will realize that you are not perfect yourself.. If you understand that we all make mistakes, you may be more tolerant of others.

6. Feel good about yourself

When we are able to understand ourselves better and accept both our strengths and our faults, we not only develop greater compassion for ourselves but also for others in general. People who are happy do not need to attack others..

7. Open yourself

Being an open-minded and tolerant person says a lot about you. Showing a positive attitude towards others makes communication much easier.. Besides, you are sure to meet interesting people if you are tolerant and open-minded.

8. Think that appearances can be deceiving

Thinking badly or giving an opinion about someone, whether for good or bad, without knowing absolutely nothing about them, without knowing them, without giving them a single chance, is wrong. It is necessary to take time to get to know people well before making judgments about them..

9. Remember that judging can hurt

No one likes to be judged incorrectly. If you don't like it done to you, don't do it to others.. This is the golden rule and we should all respect it. Think of times when someone may have hurt you by judging you. Are you going to do the same to others?

10. You are not always right

When judging others, even if you think you have the absolute truth, this is not true.. Things happen for many reasons and often you don't know the half of the story. For example, you may meet an attractive girl and she has a cold attitude towards you. She may have had an experience in the past that makes her more cautious about meeting guys. If you judge her as inconsiderate, you may be wrong.