Become less judgmental

It is so easy to make judgments about people based on our own biases and prejudices. Some of those perceptions have been with us for a lifetime. Perhaps others we have added as we navigated our careers and our own personal lives. Being judgmental causes us to label whole groups of people, blame others for problems in our lives, narrow our viewpoint of what is acceptable, and robs us of rewarding relationships with people that are different from us. Cable TV and talk radio is replete with voices encouraging us to disagree forcefully with one group or another. There are few voices asking us to learn to appreciate differences and value diverse thinking. Take a few moments daily to challenge your own thinking, asking yourself what you may be missing by making quick judgments about people or ideas.