What does your recording say? What is your programming? What have you packed in your baggage?Why on earth am I asking you these seemingly ridiculous questions?
I am asking them because if I didn’t bring this up, someone else might, or worse- no one would at all. Then you end up as a failed rock star at an American Idol audition. That’s what happens when you don’t get the truth.
I used to date as a past-time. When the date didn’t turn into a nutritional consult, it often turned into a therapy session. I started to get the feeling that dating was an opportunity for two people to meet, for them to open up the baggage they dragged around with them, empty out the contents piece by piece, and leave it up to the person on the other side of the cafe table to decide whether any contents of this baggage were deal breakers or not. More often than not, I walked away from these dates/therapy sessions praying to baggage handlers the world over that these fine people would be blessed with the lightness that would come should their baggage be lost.
Often however, we don’t recognize this in ourselves. We just carry on, living with the agreements we have come to know as our truth, living and thinking (and often eating) in such a way because everyone else does it the same way and so it seems normal and okay. Dear me oh my! Say it ain’t so.
Baggage may be painful for the person who is presented with the contents, but take a moment and imagine how exhausting it must be for the person who has to keep packing, unpacking and baring the weight of that heavy load? Though often we recognize, take personally, get offended by, grow tired of, or worse- dismiss the weaknesses in others, maybe we should, at these times, try and help them out a bit. If their actions, words, and habits are hard for us to take, imagine how they must feel carrying it around 24/7.
I have been told many-a-time (usually by my beloved momma) that I am highly critical. I don’t go to yoga and meditate and long for sunshine and beaches because calmness comes easy to me. Now, couple that tendency with a career in health and nutrition and wow does it take the practice of non-judgment to a whole knew level. As long as we judge and criticize others, we continue to judge and criticize ourselves and vice versa. This isn’t good for anyone really and for this reason, I have decided to implement a new challenge in my life and I hope you will join me.
Free of Judgment Challenge.
Join the challenge and share the challenge (but don’t judge others if they don’t want to play). You can join the challenge simply by entering a comment below. By commenting below, that is your contract to practice 10-days of judgment free living. I don’t expect this to clear judgyness and criticalness out of your or my life forever, but it will bring oodles of awareness to our thoughts.
Rules of the game
- 10-days without judgment
- Should you catch yourself judging, you must make note of this. This can be done by snapping a band on your wrist, writing it down, making a little tick on a piece of paper, sending yourself an email with the subject line “Judger” or any other way you feel will work to keep track.
- Judgment on yourself counts.
- Declaring something as being very judgmental does not excuse it, or make it okay. You must still mark it down because you had the judgmental thought.
Increase chances of staying judgment-free by sharing this 10-Days Free of Judgment Challenge by commenting below, posting to your Facebook and/or twitter, creating a challenge in your school or work place, emailing to your friends etc. and keep me in the loop by including your initiatives in your comment below,. As a reward you will receive lots of non-judgmental love from me and the greatest gift will be spending ten days with people who have checked their judgment at the door.
If you want to join the challenge and win one-of two once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity prizes valued at $340 each, then keep reading.
Win Tickets to See Miguel Ruiz, Author of The Four Agreements Live In Toronto
This challenge just so happen to relate perfectly to an upcoming event hosted by Inspirational Works- the same great peeps who brought Byron Katie to Toronto in October. April 9th-11th 2010, Miguel Ruiz will be in Toronto to help us all make some knew agreements with ourselves that will invariably aid us in leaving that old, useless baggage on the carousel. If you have read his book The Four Agreements, or the Mastery of Love., his new Book, The Fifth Agreement, is fan-freaking-life-changing-tastic.
Send an email on over to me, telling me why you want this. As short as a sentence, as long as a novel (though I’ll likely stop reading after about 10o words)- let me know how his books have influenced your life, why you need his books to influence your life, how you believe you might be influenced or perhaps plain and simply why you want to go. You must be available to be in Toronto from April 9th – 11th. Recipients will be selected by the peeps over at Inspirational Works. To purchase tickets to the event, go here.
You’re hilarious: ‘when the date didn’t turn into a nutritional consult it often turned into a therapy session”! Between those two, you’ve covered everyone’s dates!
This challenge is a terrific idea. I’m in. 
What a great post Meghan! I would have never thought that you have to work on avoiding judgement/negativity…you do such a good job of keeping positive on this blog. Thanks for posting this challenge. Like you, I also have a tendency to judge people, things, places. I often wonder, “why do I need to have an opinion on everything?” I will commit to being “opinion-less”/non judgemental for the next 10 days. ~ M
p.s. this is my first post!
I like the post, but want to remind folks that being non judgmental doesn’t mean take an ‘anything goes’ approach. There’s so much confusion. You still have to exercise judgment – just don’t get critical with self and others. At least that’s my philosophy!
Very true… The challenging judgments are those that are negative and that we then attach emotion to. It is -14 outside. It is cold. Those are the facts. The cold bites the big one and it would be better if it were warm. That is my judgment and I have marked it down
I am such a judger…I am definately in!
What a healthy challenge. My husband and kids often accuse me of “needing to comment on everything.” As a parent, sitting back with your mouth shut and letting your kids learn from their experiences and actions can be very difficult at times. Even though we mean well, our comments can still come across as judgmental, and can backfire in the end. I’m in for the challenge – it’s my birthday tomorrow, so I think this is a perfect gift to myself and those around me!
Wow, did this post ever come at a timely moment.
Just last night I was reprimanding myself for being to critical and judgy (I’m also studying nutrition…maybe it comes with the territory a little bit) and I want to release that part of myself in order to be a better girlfriend, daughter, friend, practitioner, and to be kinder to myself in general. I am sorry that I have been one to say “I accept you” and then say shortly after, “but this is how I want you to change”.
I am so in.
Rubber band on wrist- check.
Ps. The Four Agreements is awesome…reminds me that I should reread it…I remember it had a profound effect on me when I read it about 4 years ago.
Count me in! I could definitely use this these days. I’m going to take the suggestion of using a wrist band to keep track of my judgements and hopefully improve my mindfullness too!. Thanks, you are awesome.
Meghan — as always, thank you.
I’m in
Sending the love right back atcha
Gabriela
Love this challenge, how could I possibly say no to something so positive and beneficial? I am rooting for us all!
I am definitely joining in on this challenge. A lot of the stress in my life originates from judging and getting frustrated with others, and I definitely need to cut that out! Looking forward to 10 days of not being judgy-judgerson!
I judge myself and others way to much. Great post meghan! I’m definately in.
Hello! Thanks for this post. I am in.
Boy do I carry baggage and judge myself and others! I admit I have been working on the baggage but cant claim I have done so great on judgment. I’m in!
I also work in health, and focus on food, lifestyle, etc. It does create many opportunities and urges for judging others, and even knowing it’s not good, like the people I am judging, I do what’s bad for me anyway. This sounds like an awesome way to break the funk, and at the very least, give the ppl in my life a break! I’m in.
Im in. Just last night i had this horrible wierd conversation with my Mom. Then this morning, in my time with God I confessed all of my unforgiveness toward her and how I just wanna let go. I don’t really go around being judgemental and critical, however, when its with someone that has deeply hurt me in the past, I am. So, here is to letting go of the chains of unforgiveness(though it may always hurt) and moving towards a relationship free of judgement. I am so grateful for challenges!
love it! i’m in.
Thank you for making us think about how we think!
Haha, truth told on the American Idol bit.
Thanks for this post. I know I need this challenge at this particular stage in my life (esp. when it comes to passing judgment on myself), and I thank you for this!
Fanned! I think this is truly THE crux issue with our American culture. Judgment is rampant in our media, in my workplace, and among so many of my called “friends” and family. It’s also about expectations and whining about the failures of same. Pessimisim and complaining is dangerously ubiquitous. (OOO, just realizing how judgmental this sounds.) YES! I plan to submit this challenge to my Office tomorrow morning. Jar in the office, that you add coins too, when you catch yourself, or others catch you at it. I have worked on this for so long, but find it’s like training for a marathon, you have to keep putting in the effort and build-up conditioning to perform well in the long run.
[...] contact Making Love in the Kitchen « Send That Baggage Packing [...]
Haha… I think you’ve come a long way since those “fashion eyes” you’d flash at Ian! Also, love the idea of sending myself an email with the subject heading “Judger” and nothing else. Hilarious. Sign me up for the challenge!
[...] am clearly all over the slimy foods this week- not that I am judging them. I like to take things all the way and the okra of yesterday just wasn’t slimy enough and so [...]
I’m in too. It’s so much harder than it seems, but maybe just being aware of it is the first step. Lots of love!
Day two of the challenge, and it is definitely a challenge!
Wait- are you judging the challenge as ‘challenging’? Or is that a factual observation. I am beginning to understand the difference