Take a Pass on Passing Judgement

I'm the first to admit it. I'm way too quick to pass judgement on people. It's one of the things I dislike the most about myself. A few months ago, I found myself reading about a woman being kind to a parent struggling with a child having meltdown in a grocery store and it changed my perspective. I made a decision to stop passing judgment at that moment.

You might have heard about the woman in Texas who posted a video condemning a child for having a tantrum in a grocery store. I won't post her name or link to the video because there isn't any useful reason to do so.

The truth is, kids have bad days. They might be in pain and in the grocery store waiting for a prescription to be filled. They might have an underlying condition that isn't visible like autism or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or any one of countless other health issues that impact behavior or cause intense pain and yet have no outward physical signs.

The point is, we don't know why someone else's child is upset. Sometimes, we don't even know why our own child is upset. The last thing we should be doing is condemning the child or the parents. We need to support and nurture each other. Instead of passing judgement, pass on a smile of understanding, a word of encouragement, a pat on a shoulder. We live an an angry and hostile world. Let's change that, shall we?

Monday Funday

Monday is a day that either goes great or goes straight down the tubes. Thankfully, although the day came with quite a few challenges, those challenges were met with laughter and camaraderie. My team members and I moved multiple computers and monitors and rearranged desks on less than half a cup of coffee and five minutes notice. Because of everyone's good humor and willingness to jump into action, what could have been a stressful and uncomfortable start to the day was simply an unexpected and exciting one that we faced and conquered as a group. I'm blessed to be surrounded by such a talented group of people, a group of people dedicated to working together and achieving success as a team.

I hope you're choosing to surround yourself with the same high quality people. Whatever success you want to achieve in your life, whether personally or professionally, seek out and surround yourself with those who have achieved that success already. Ask them to mentor you. Learn from them so you can emulate their habits and behaviors. And when you achieve your success, remember how they helped you and pass that same assistance on to those who are on their way to success.