Judgment

"Who are we to judge?"  "Judge not, lest ye be judged."  The sayings are there, telling us not to judge others.  But what about ourselves?  Where are the tenets that encourage us not to be judgmental of who we are, what we are, what we do, and what we say?  We all do it.  We judge ourselves more than anyone else could possibly judge us.   "That was a stupid thing to say."  "Why did I do that?  That was dumb."  "I'm a fake."  The voice inside us would never talk to our closest friends or even our worst enemies that way.  So why do we talk to ourselves like this?  Part of the reason is simply habit.  Our thought-streams flow in the direction they have always flowed.  Without some amount of mindfulness, it can be difficult or even overwhelming to try to curb the judgments drifting by one-after-one.  The first step is to become aware.  This week, try to note every time you judge yourself, someone else, a situation or a thing.  If it helps, write it down in a notebook.  Within a few days (or maybe even hours!) you will realize the extent of your judging.