~:[CH15 - Day 296]:~ In the Absence of Judgement

 
~:[CH15 - Day 296]:~ In the Absence of Judgement

Do we judge each other too much? We may comment on someone's clothes, jobs, etc. looking at it as a measure of success or categorizing them in some way. We evaluate people based on their test scores, how many points they scored in a game, or how many awards they collected. Sure, we as individuals must strive for success and ways to improve ourselves, but how do we push for success, while eliminating the comparisons and judgement that comes along with it? Watching the athletes sing to their heart's content without anyone judging them, helped me think about today's topic. I saw a group of teenagers who were free and unafraid to be themselves. They didn't hold back even if their voices weren't the greatest, but it's because nobody cared. They only cared about enjoying this moment together. Being a coach, it's hard to avoid comparisons and judging a performance based on times or other metrics, but in the sport of cross country, it's also wonderful because athletes can just do their best and not think about their times. They can run without judgement and work to improve themselves. At the end of the day, we'll never eliminate comparisons and judgement, but if we make an effort to be a little less critical of others and support them in what they're trying to do, maybe we can allow people to grow and thrive a bit more and comfortable with who they are. We all have a bit of work to do still, but I'll do my best to improve and I hope that you'll make the pledge to do so as well so we can help each other grow, rather than hold each other back.