Change your Story
We’re really good at judging, or are we?
How can we make sure we’re experiencing reality, and not our version of it?
Image by Lacy Phillips
constantly judging
Liking something, having an opinion about something else. We’re constantly judging our experiences, and we all do it, it’s how we make sense of the world. But sometimes your mindset or mood is off and you’re seeing things through a distorted lens, and not actually seeing the situation clearly to begin with. Sound familiar? It’s part of being human!
For 5 minutes, observe and don’t judge
The first skill of mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness, being aware of the constant stream of judging and reacting to inner and outer experiences we’re having, and being able to step back and see it all clearly.
To build the muscle of seeing things clearly, starting breathing.
Notice when your mind wanders (a thought comes “this is boring”)
Recognize it as judgemental thinking and remind yourself this practice (meditation) involves suspending judgement
Allow yourself to just watch whatever thoughts come up, without having to act on them in any way
Think of thoughts that pop in your head as clouds in the sky, you don’t have opinions about them, they’re not bad or good. You see one, not attaching or making up a story about it, and move on.
The more we can notice when and how we judge our experiences, and start to challenge those thoughts, the more we can live more authentically, in the present moment, without getting caught by our own unhealthy habits of mind.
Give it a try, just for 5 minutes.