I had always been taught that the Bible verse “Judge not, that ye be not judged” meant if you refrain from judging others then they will refrain from judging you. To a degree, that is true. If you are emitting the energy of judgment, then you will attract that energy. Controlling what others do, however, is not within your power (although you may wish it was). A new way to understand that statement, “judge not, that ye be not judged” is to realize that the entire statement is about you.

Stop judging yourself. Judgment is a combination of deciding something is wrong and then trying to shame the person being judged into changing, even if the person you are shaming is yourself. I have recently come to believe that shame is one of the most disempowering emotions you can feel, for it keeps you playing small and prevents you from being authentically you. It causes you to hide, to doubt yourself, and to make yourself wrong. You spend tons of energy questioning yourself and beating yourself up. Instead, how about loving yourself, comforting yourself, and focusing on how this thought, this word, this deed can be for the highest good of all concerned. When you give yourself a break, you will also find yourself giving others a break, realizing we are all human and doing the best we can at any moment. Judge not; love instead.