How to Practice Non-Judgement

In our day-to-day lives, we tend to put a label on all the things that happen to us. In fact, everything is categorized as positive, negative, or neutral by our minds. Therefore, the mind becomes a judging machine. While this is perfectly natural and even helpful sometimes, adopting a judgmental attitude is not. 

Fighting against your instincts and adopting a non-judgmental attitude can be life-changing, as it gives you a whole new perspective on life. Plus, by doing this, you get the chance to experience things you would never have typically done.

What is non-judgement?

Being non-judgmental doesn’t mean not making any kind of judgements. After all, evaluating the things that we see or that happen to us is human nature. Practicing non-judgement means changing the relationship you have with these judgmental thoughts and realizing that they are just fleeting thoughts that can often misinterpret the reality you live in.

Benefits of practicing non-judgement

Still not sure why you should adopt a non-judgmental attitude? Take a look at some of the main benefits:

• You can build better relationships: You’ll have more meaningful and healthy relationships with the people around you once you stop judging them. In addition, it will be much easier to embrace your differences.
• You get to experience new things: People often avoid doing certain things or talking to certain people because of their judgements. When you stop labelling things, you get the chance to try new things because you will no longer be held back by your misconceptions.
• It helps you see things clearly: When you have a judgmental attitude, you only see your interpretation of the world, which is often very different from reality. By practicing non-judgement, you learn to see things as they really are.
• You will feel more confident: Non-judgement not only refers to not judging other people but also to not making judgements about yourself. This will lead to boosted confidence and self-love.

So, now that we’ve seen its benefits, let’s explore the best ways of practicing non-judgment:

Meditate

Meditation is one of the most common ways of practicing non-judgement. Through meditation, you learn to detach yourself from your thoughts and see them from an objective perspective. 

Mindfulness meditation is especially helpful in this situation. It teaches you how to focus on the present moment, observe your mind from a non-judgmental perspective whenever it wanders, and return to the present. Basically, through meditation, you learn how to gently let go of your thoughts without labelling them. 

It also helps if you begin your meditation by setting an intention. For example, tell yourself that you will not judge any thoughts or emotions that might arise during your meditation.

Keep a journal

Journaling is very helpful for keeping track of your thoughts and analyzing them. Therefore, whenever you find yourself having judgmental thoughts, write them down. Then, try to identify what made you have those certain assumptions. By doing this, you will realize that the thoughts are a result of your mind and your past experiences and not necessarily a reflection of reality.

Furthermore, recording your self-talk in a journal helps you detach from your thoughts and see them from a much clearer perspective. Plus, you will notice how often you are judgmental and the situations that trigger these thoughts. Being aware of these aspects is the first step towards changing your attitude. 

Don’t judge people based on first impressions

The first impressions usually have a strong impact on how we perceive other things or people. However, judging others based on the first contact we have with them can be very misleading. It takes time to truly get to know someone, and often the opinions we have about certain people in the beginning are very different from the ones we have after we have spent more time together. 

Just think about it—how many times have you been wrong to label someone without taking the time to get to know them? I’m guessing it happened at least a few times. You might even be friends with some of the people you didn’t initially like. So keep this in mind next time your mind tries to categorize someone before you truly get to know them. 

Value diversity

No two people are ever the same. So instead of judging others for their differences, try to appreciate them for their particularities.

The fact that we are all different is what makes us special, so let’s value diversity instead of being judgmental. 

Plus, by getting to know people who have gone through completely different experiences than you have, you get the chance to discover new things about the world and to gain a fresh perspective on life.

Final thoughts

Practicing non-judgment and keeping an open mind about the world around us is a great way to go through life. Hopefully, the tips above will help you let go of your judgements and change your perception of yourself and those around you.

To find out more about this subject, download the Beautiful You app. We tackle a new topic every week, and this week we are talking about non-judgment!