20 Signs You're An Overly Judgmental Person - Best Life

We often try, in our daily lives, to exhibit judgment that is “good” and avoid judgment that is “bad.” Seldom do we stop and think, however, whether we should really be exhibiting judgment at all. The fact is, for some of people, the issuing of judgments crosses the line from a necessity of life to a recreational sport. When that happens, you’re no longer merely issuing helpful (or unhelpful) opinions—you’ve become an overly judgmental person. And no one enjoys being around an overly judgmental person.

Fortunately, for those so afflicted, there are steps which can be taken to reduce one’s need to consistently judge others. But before that can be done, the facts must be faced that one is indeed just such an overly judgmental person. What follows is a list of 20 signs that—if you find yourself nodding along— you may be guilty of passing too much judgment yourself.

1 You Frequently Make Moral Evaluations

Not every move we make may may be emblematic of the person we are—hence the phrase, “Sorry, I just wasn’t acting like myself.” An overly judgmental person, however, will often have difficulty separating an action—particularly one they disapprove of—from the person that committed it.

Thus, they frequently latch onto even the smallest bad act, using it as an excuse to label the person behind them “bad.” A more level-headed approach, meanwhile, would understand that no single action can define someone, and that a person’s character is created through a lifetime of repeated actions, not a few isolated events.

3 You Justify Your Criticism as “The Truth”

Everyone makes mistakes, and occasionally fails to live up to their own ideals. While most people know this, an overly judgmental person will often have difficulty accepting others’ failures.

Instead of recognizing that people are complex individuals who aren’t perfectly consistent in everything they do in life, an overly judgmental person will feel wronged that someone else does not live up to expectation.

5 You Regularly Have a Negative Outlook

Being overly judgmental is a defense mechanism: by criticizing others, you protect yourself from a negative evaluation. Thus, the judgments made by such a person will often work in their favor by dismissing those dissimilar to themselves as lesser. A scientist who frequently criticizes the arts, for example, is more likely to be an overly judgmental person than, say, the scientist who criticizes her own profession.

7 You Jump to Conclusions

As critical as an overly judgmental person may be of others, the sword is often sharpest when they turn it on themselves. Given their wealth of knowledge about themselves, it’s also often the most debilitating.

9 You Do Not Trust Others