judgment detox

You always own the option of having no opinion.
            —Marcus Aurelius

I laughed when I saw the quote above.  Marcus really knew truthiness.  These days, though, who thinks we "own" a no-opinion option?  What about all the thumbs asking to go up or down?  Those stars?  The reviews of who wore what where?  Judging ourselves in the mirror?

What if we remembered that option we own, and stopped the flow of critiques to ourselves and others?  Just stopped?  Imagine letting all those thoughts float down a gentle river, without dragging our attention along.

I suggest this not to be judgy, but because judging isn't our healthiest brain choice.  It's oddly seductive (our brains like thinking they know best), but really, judging is exhausting.  You can feel it, and science backs you up:

• Judging throws our prefrontal cortex into overdrive

• Being judgy messes with our Default Mode Network

• When we judge, our amygdala (emotional alarm bell) alerts us, "something is wrong."

All this locks our brains into narrow, repetitive loops that limit creativity, joy, and flexibility.

Who wants that?  Next time you feel a critique coming on, own your right to send it downstream!