Respecting or Judging?
I was reading one of my favorite sites this morning, The Simple Dollar and Trent shared some thoughts that have made his life better and they make a lot of sense to me. One that really stood out was this:
“Whenever I meet someone, I have a choice. I can either respect them and get along with them, or I can judge them. One route leads to good relations. The other route leads to failure.”
We are faced with all kinds of choices daily and that being so, I’m not sure we give enough notice to relational choices we make every day. I know several people who wonder why they keep failing, why the don’t have or keep many friends and are utterly dissatisfied with life.
When you think about it, if you aren’t choosing to respect someone, you are judging them. You are deciding they don’t deserve or haven’t earned respect, hence judging them.
Do you often ask yourself:
- Why the world is so unfair?
- Why you always get the short end of the stick?
- Why it is hard to meet quality people?
- Are there any quality people to meet?
- What is happening to the world?
If this is you, consider the way you interact with people and the choices you make every time you meet someone.
Good, respectful, positive choices lead to success and happiness.
Try it if you don’t believe me.
Audra Krell 
It really is as simple as treating others as we wish to be treated. Simple. But not always easy. Good food for thought.
Audra,
I read this post and the entire time I was reading it I was nodding my head “yes”. Such good advice here. Perhaps the thought that stands out to me most is this”
“consider the way you interact with people and the choices you make every time you meet someone.”
If we apply this precept, what a change it would make!!
Treating others the way we want to be treated will change the world one relationship at a time! Thanks for stopping over Keith and Gretchen!
Such wisdom here! Take a look at ourselves and our own behavior first~ Works every time 🙂
Audra,
This is such a wonderful topic to discuss. When we come from a place of judgement – the thing is, we can never know fully what it is that’s led up to that point. When we come from a place of respect, it allows us to more fully connect and understand.
So true Lance, it’s actually less work to simply respect people! Thanks for being here my friend!
Great post Audra….I very much agree with you. When we respect others, there is no need to judge them. I think we need to start with self-respect and go from there.
Starting with self respect is a great point Dolores. It all begins “at home” doesn’t it?