Judgment is a tricky business

“Cause you see I’m on losing streak, I can't get no, oh no no no,” (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

Judgment is a tricky thing. I don’t mean the type of judgment that comes from court, as in the “final judgment.” I mean when others judge each other based on silly little things. We can all say that we are not judgmental, but everyone is in at least one way or another. I try to never judge anyone for anything or because they sin differently than me, but I do sometimes find myself judging others after they have judged me. Not so much on bad things they do, but on why they would judge someone else.

Sadly, the world of social media has made it quite easy to judge others based on what they post. Who hasn’t said “did you see what so and so was wearing?” or “I can’t believe they would post that.” It is true that those who post how wonderful they are or something in their life is, never really are that great, but that doesn’t stop people from saying something. Feeding into someone’s desire for attention is all too easy in today’s world. This judgment will always be there as long as there are people that overshare in the world and the fad of selfies. But this isn’t the judgment I am getting at with this post.

The judgment I am going to address is when someone close to you devalues your choices and tries to make you feel small. This is where I really think I channel Laura Bush as I am always supportive of people’s choices. Of course I don’t always agree with everything someone does, as no one would agree with me on everything I have done. But never will I judge someone. I will speak up if something is dangerous to them, but that should be a given.

Unfortunately, the past couple of months I have been judged by many around me for choices I have made. I don’t fit the stereotypical girl that believes you must be married to be happy, or rich to be happy. I am happy despite those two things. I believe in relationships, but it is not my end goal. The people I have chosen to be in my life in this capacity are aware of that fact and I am thankful for them. Money has never been a driving force for me, or else journalism would not have been my degree. I made one decision in my life based on money and it turned out to be the wrong choice. I don’t begrudge anyone success in monetary gains, just don’t judge me because I don’t strive for that.

So what to do when someone judges you about your career or personal life? What if that person is “close” to you? Well when this happens it is a perfect moment to ask, what would Laura Bush do? Well she would be classy. She would not let someone else’s opinion change her path. She would listen to what they have to say, thank them, and then continue on her way. This is what I am doing. I am not letting it get to me or cause a smart comment from me. No more getting defensive. Just letting what they say roll off my back and move on. If I can remain classy when faced with judgment, then I know I have channeled Laura Bush and channeled her well.