The following post is from our Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS) Tidbit of the Month series. Each month, the RCCS Steering Committee creates practices to support our recovery culture within our programs and among staff. Click here to learn more about the RCCS.

Judgment

One of the Five Awarenesses of the RCCS Program Culture

A judgment is an evaluation of one person by another, consciously or unconsciously. Judgments are frequently made without adequate information and are charged – positive/negative, good/bad, right/wrong. Judgments may be communicated with words, tone of voice, behaviors, or looks. Sometimes, we are judgmental of ourselves. We worry about what others will think of us if they know our faults or the parts of ourselves we are struggling with. And yet, we all make judgments. That’s what human beings do.

So, how can we reduce our judgments of others and strive towards a judgment-free culture? To decrease judgment, we should strive to increase curiosity. Being curious demonstrates a willingness to better understand others and give others permission to know and understand us in a deeper way. Being curious increases the changes to know what we have in common rather than our differences. Closing the “gap” in any relationship increases our understanding of others and decreases the unknown.

Tips for Practicing Curiosity:

Take long, unplanned walks (or runs!) in your city, or when visiting a new city. Take kids along and try to see the world through their eyes.
Read: pick a topic you like, find a meaningful book that covers that topic, read it, highlight and share key insights, repeat.
Ask all the “W” questions: what, why, where, when, who (+ the odd “how”). Then start over to drill down into any topic that catches your interest.
Meditate: detach your thoughts from judgment and from a specific situation.
Take a different route from and to your workplace every day.
Take walking breaks, often.
Make it a habit to prepare well for conversations and start with, “What do I most want to learn about this person?” – then find new questions within that answer.
Ask good questions. For example: “how are you really feeling?”; “What are you avoiding right now? Why?”; “What do you want to make space for in your life?”
When faced with something new, make it a conscious choice to suspend judgment or make any assumptions. Then ask yourself whether there is something new there for you to learn or understand.