Curiosity and Judgement Rarely Co-Exist
This idea keeps coming up in my work, my conversations, and my life. And when something keeps coming up, I turn towards it (and get curious about it).
Curiosity ignites spaciousness, flow, openness, and flexibility. Judgment closes, limits, shrinks, and suppresses. Routine judgment of ourselves and others diminishes our vitality.
Also: the tendency to judge may be a signpost of diminished vitality, because judgment often arises from a place of fear and self-protection (and we don’t thrive in fear and self-protection). Judgement helps us feel less threatened, temporarily.
Curiosity, rather, is available to us when we feel safe and secure. It is a signpost of vitality. And practicing it enhances our vitality.
The more we embody curiosity, the more we thrive.
Let judgment be an invitation to PRACTICE getting curious, not just about who or what you are judging, but also about that part of you that is doing the judging.
(That part deserves your curiosity, too).
In My Work
Last week I gave a short training to Dr. Sue McCreadie’s Fit Fem Free Reset group all about self-trust where curiosity made an appearance. In it, I shared how practicing compassion with ourselves is one of the most powerful ways to catalyze revolutionary levels of self-trust. And I shared that we cannot access compassion inside of a judgmental mind. A curious mind, however, is fertile ground for compassion to grow.
You can watch the replay here.
In My Partnerships
Curiosity always comes up in client conversations. It’s central to my partnerships. Two conversations in particular prompted me to write this instagram post about how doing all the things to heal yourself may actually be a symptom of your dis-ease. It’s an invitation to get curious about how this behavioral symptom may be functioning in your life. I shared it below for you, too.
In My Life
It’s more challenging for me to have a curious mind with myself than it is for me to have a curious mind with others. I think that may be why it felt so shocking to me when someone judged me publicly last week, making assumptions and labeling me without getting curious about me first.
What I know: our lived experiences inform our choices, our beliefs, our feelings, and even our tendency to judge or be curious. So, even on the receiving end of someone else’s judgment, I stayed curious about how this person’s lived experience might have informed her judgment of me. Staying curious allowed me to have compassion, even as I clarified and set boundaries with her.
In My Conversations
The other big thing that happened this week: Vital Force, the podcast, launched its first episode. This collaboration with Paula Jeffrey and Krista Rivet is all about getting curious. Our conversations about life and healing are inspired by homeopathy and are intended to catalyze curiosity, awareness, and connection. And they’re a reminder of the healing power that’s always within you.
Listen here or anywhere you get your podcasts!
