December 7, 2025
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Ian Maclaren
When I was at McKinsey (a lifetime ago), my manager once told me that one of my redeeming qualities was that I had a disarming personality — that I could make anyone feel comfortable enough to tell me just about anything. What I noticed over time is that people often follow those vulnerable admissions with the same reflex: “Don’t judge me.”
Now I make it a point to tell people: “I don’t judge.” And I mean it. The reason is simple: I don’t know you, so how could I judge you? I don’t know the weight you carry, the past trauma you’ve encountered, or the pain of stories held so deeply in your body. I don’t know your fears, your insecurities, your triggers. So how could I, or anyone for that matter, judge you?
We’re all doing the best we can with what we have and where we came from. Most of us are still healing from something. And underneath it all, we are the same — simple, soft beings, searching for love, meaning, and hope. Who are any of us to judge another?