Misjudgment

“Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them.”

We often misjudge others simply because we are not true to ourselves. We are insecure with who we are so we create false beliefs in our head about the people we encounter to make ourselves feel better. 

When you judge someone based on outward appearance, it typically stems from a bias you have formed in your head based on past experiences. This bias stems from the way people “like that” have treated you in the past. Your brain does whatever it possibly can to make things familiar. This is your brain going into alert mode. Making decisions based on past experiences typically will keep you safe. The hot stove top burnt your hand last time you touched it so now you are careful every time you get near it.

So knowing this, can we do the same with people? 

I believe not. Humans are dynamic creatures, our behavior is constantly changing. Every single experience a person goes through makes up their overall character. From the outside, we can not see the experiences someone has gone through, so we attempt to fill in the blanks. The result: misjudgment. 

Survival is the natural goal of every person, so when we feel in danger, we enter survival mode. Defenses go up and we do what we can to defend ourselves and those who are important to us. 

This creates quite a dilemma. 

The brain says to defend, but as a result you create a false representation of a person you don’t know.

Is there a solution?

The only solution is to control what you can control. The only person you can control is you. To do this you must:

1. Represent yourself accurately 

2. Welcome new viewpoints

3. Treat others as you wish to be treated

These 3 simple keys will usually defer misjudgement.

Representing yourself accurately allows people to take you at face value and avoid misjudging you. Welcoming new viewpoints and perspectives allows you to see the world through someone else’s eyes. This allows us to find respect for all people and what they have been through. Treating others as you wish to be treated keeps your brain focused on seeing the positive in people before the negative. There is something good about every single person, it’s just a matter of if you let yourself see it or not.

Keep your mind open and welcoming new perspectives. The more you are open to new perspectives, the more you learn and the more respect you gain for others. I believe respecting others is an extremely simple solution to almost any problem.

Be true to yourself, respect others, avoid misjudgement.

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~Thank you for reading. My goal is to help teach others ways to better themselves while doing the same for myself. This is The Exploration.~