Why do we judge? Is it to make ourselves feel better? If we are putting someone down, does that build us up? We judge with looks, words and clicks. The words are done in the most behind the back way imaginable today: people sit and judge from behind their keyboard. No one is safe. It’s not just celebrities that should know of our disdain but anyone who posts a photo, comment or article. We judge.

We judge our family, our friends and complete strangers. We form opinions based on what the person is doing, what they look like or how they talk. The whole concept of first impressions last is based on a judgement of someone’s face. Once we decide we don’t like a person’s face, their expression or their body language, that’s it for us. You have put that person in a box that they will have to struggle to get out of.

We can get out of that box and we can also take a person out of a box.

I would ask you to stop and think about what you don’t know about the person you are casting aspersions on: the bedraggled woman in the over-washed tracksuit pants could be nursing her newborn child, he woman who no longer comes out and socialises with us could be going through IVF but doesn’t want to let anyone know or the waitress whose English isn’t perfect because it’s the third language she speaks.

We need to work on what a first impression should be. We need to change it from being one of judgement to a positive thought. We need to shift our perspective. Imagine if we all decided to see something positive about a person first. A non-judgemental thought: that colour really suits her; I can’t believe English is her third language; she’s so brave, fearless, happy, free, open, enthusiastic, brilliant, kind, friendly, funny, engaging, eye-catching, warm… the list of positive things we get to think about a person is endless. Our first impression is then a positive one and that can only lead to good things.

Imagine how much happier our view of the world would be.