Random Musings

Are you? Too quick to judge?

Like someone is speaking to you, and even as you hear her speak, your head is going, “She doesn’t get it” or “she is so biased” or “this is such nonsense” etc.??

Whether we verbalise such thoughts of ours or not, too often we find ourselves jumping to such conclusions.

While it is a fact that we need to constantly analyse all inputs (knowledge, experience, opinions, what we are hearing, etc.) and come to our own conclusions, rushing to such judgments may be detrimental.

Yes, it is a busy world and we have other things to do in life.

Yes, there is a lot of data to process.

Yes, we need to get on with life.

However, that does not mean that we need to judge prematurely and risk making a wrong call.

So, when you are reading some content or talking to someone, and you let your mind take a decision about the subject too quickly, what you are doing is to keep a closed mind and not allow a potential alternate thought, or a clarification from the other person to come in.

And thanks that that, we can end up forming prejudices about people or topics, for example:

• He / she is leftist / rightist and hence those views
• He / she comes from a very different background and won’t understand this subject
• He / she is wrong
• I know what he / she is going to say next
• There he / she goes blabbering away
• I have made a mistake in hiring him / her
• This client is so irrational / insenstive
• My boss / manager / colleague / client hates me
• etc.

I am sure all of us are guilty of doing this, to small or large extent. But if you see yourself doing this all the time, you might want to pause and think.

What you might be doing is to put the cart before the horse. Or to put a conclusion without merit, or without having heard the perspective completely.

The traits that lead to such behaviour are as under:

1. Overconfidence: you feel that you know everything, and don’t even need to listen to what the other person is saying, or what that other view is.
2. Arrogance: a feeling that “what can this person teach me”!
3. Not being a good listener: is when, you are supposedly “hearing” the other person, but not really “listening” to them. Which means that you are blanked out to that person’s talking, and your mind is elsewhere. Or perhaps preparing a response, basis the little initial part that you heard.
4. Not having empathy: you choose to not put yourself in the other person’s shoes to understand where they are coming from, on their viewpoint

As you handle larger responsibility in any field, the demand to take decisions, and sometimes quick ones, is high. And that requires that you reach a judgement quickly too. But that should not come at the cost of being over confident or arrogant or not being empathetic to the other person.

Walk the balance between quick decision making and not being judgmental well, and you should see a huge impact in the quality of decisions that you make! And the consequences thereof…