Someone says something to you. In the milliseconds, before you have an initial reaction, your mind is already deciding the value of what what was just heard. It is determining before you have your initial feeling about the statement, whether the feeling you experience should be one of pleasure, disgust, or anger. In short your brain is putting a label on it before you're even aware of hearing what is being said by the other person. This happens very quickly, in a fleeting moment your mind may be considering something else. Nevertheless these judgements have made their mark and coloured your perceptions.
These "micro judgements" as I call them, work in concert with cognitive bias, are so automatic and often arbitrary, that it is a wonder the average person isn't a walking, talking body of contradiction. Fortunately our higher brain functions manage (i.e.functions that require advanced, complex, and abstract processing )to project the appearance of rational human being most of the time. But put someone under the right kind of stress however and these micro judgements can become visible.
These small almost instantaneous judgements reveal a far more complicated psyche. When I was in my 20s to my dismay, I found many negative biases. And I thought myself quite a liberal, so that discovery bothered me greatly initially. Then I realized that all of humanity has these contradictory and complementary micro judgements. I still didn't feel great about my little discovery but I did take away from the ongoing experience one simple fact:
"It is better to know about these biases, then it is to be in denial of them."
It is an ongoing journey of paying attention and personal learning. As opposed to ultimately being an emotional train wreck running in neutral.
Imagine if we were all taught in early school to pay attention to the judgements we make about everything around us. The insights a young mind would gain would be a phenomenal asset throughout out their lives. And I Do Mean Phenomenal. I see many people today who are in terrible emotional states because they are at odds with themselves, only they don't know it. They only know the manifested symptom. This "symptom" often catches them off guard because it doesn't fit in with who they think they are. Yet if we can get people to learn how to be introspective at an early age, I think we would unleash not only emotional wellness but probably who are better thinkers. -- "He paused, to consider deeply problems faced by society."
Today we spend a great deal of our time reacting to the external world, as though nothing else mattered. "It's all out there" is the mantra of the modern age. In truth, the most powerful modifiers are internally based.Take for example the emotion of Love. There is no greater feeling. It is so profound that it can instantly change your outlook on the entire world and those around you. Think of someone you love right now. All of a sudden the world seems a better place. Nothing external has changed. All you've done is acknowledge and get in touch with some totally internal experience. You can be in the worst mood and yet after thinking about a beautiful memory, all of a sudden things are markedly improved.
People must reacquaint themselves with their internal motivations to not only see the profound effect micro judgements have on their personal outlooks, but to understand the tremendous potential available. I think the larger world is that of the psyche. It is the totality of our complexity and also our potential.
Have a great day!
Patrick
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