We are ‘judged’ by people constantly.
The most confounding judgment coming from individuals we have minimal or no regular contact with thanks to social media. One wrong step, one awkward phrase, or one questionable outfit and we are met with vitriol. These cutting remarks, and even the looming threat of them, cause us to approach our lives with trepidation. To qualify every opinion or forego opinions altogether. This mechanism is not leading society to self-actualization but rather leading all but sociopaths to retreat.
Given our exposure to culture’s capricious thoughts regarding us, we must learn to navigate them. Solomon offers the wisdom below in regards to undeserved criticism:
“You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.”
What I think Solomon is telling us is that we need to avoid allowing these unwarranted criticisms to come to rest on us. Like both the wren and swallow who approach rapidly and depart at the same velocity, so too we need to approach these ‘surprise’ critiques. This is not to say we are to shun any and all negative feedback, rather that we are to exercise discernment based on the source, their implicit biases, and the correction itself.
If the correction is neither valid nor the source reputable, then we must be like the duck who wades through the water without getting wet. For just because someone has an opinion on our lifestyle, career, or choices does not mean they are due influence in our lives. Active filtration must be in place.
This week I encourage you to reexamine who exactly you are allowing reshape your opinion of yourself. Proper influences having appropriately proportional impact ensures efficiency in our continual drive towards a better self. So apply a critical eye to instances when you are rebuffed this week and remember that you alone control access to your heart.