Winter Capsule Outfit No. 50: Snap Judgments & What to Do About Them

You know what I’m sick of?

Labels.

Recently I was talking to someone I hadn’t seen in awhile and as we were catching up they said, “oh you’re doing that fashion blog thing aren’t you?”

And it wasn’t necessarily what they said that bothered me, it was the tone in which it was said.

It was as if they had completely figured me out based off of that one tiny bit of information they had about me.

It made me want to defend myself. It made me want to tell them that it wasn’t just a fashion blog (though would there be anything wrong if it was?), that it was a space to connect with other women to encourage and be encouraged.

But I realized that no matter what I said, it wasn’t going to change the opinion of that person because I was already neatly put into a box with a pretty little bow on top.

It left me feeling so frustrated that anyone could presume to think they knew everything about me from one aspect of who I am…

Until I realized that I do this all of the time.

I constantly make snap judgments about the people that I encounter (even people I simply walk by at Target), and I often do it with a lot less information about those people than this person had about me.

But that moment of being tangibly judged and misunderstood made me fully aware that we are all more than a snap judgement.

It made me realize that I need to shift the way that I perceive people.

What if every time I met or saw someone I assumed that they were a complicated person who had many and varied interests… someone who was interesting and had important information to share if only put in the right situation?

What if, instead of summing up that person’s character based off of what very little I know about them, I assume the very best about who they are?

Gosh, I would be a way less judgmental person if I did this.

The truth is, I think we like to put people in boxes because it makes us feel better. It gives us security to know how we rank compared to the person we’re confronted with.

How vile is that?

But yet we all do it.

I want to be more aware of this tendency and I want to fight against it.

What would it be like if as a collective whole, the entire population started making an effort to see the best in people instead of assuming the worst?

Now, unfortunately my audience is not the entire world (I know, hard to believe), but I do have a loyal little group of readers and so let me rephrase that question:

What would it be like if a collective group of people that read some random girl’s blog about capsule wardrobes decided to start making an effort to see the best in people instead of assuming the worst?

Think of all of the people that would be encouraged by this! And maybe those people in turn would do the same for even more people, and so on and so on.

So I have a challenge for you today: this week as you go about your lives, try to be aware of the thoughts that jump into your head about the people you’re interacting with and just try to make an active effort to think well of them.

I’ll be doing it too.

Comfy Sneakers: Adidas | Ethical Option

Black pants: old Gap | Ethical Option | Affordable ethical option ($50!) | Affordable Option

Oversized Sweater: Thrifted | Ethical Option | Similar Vibe Ethical Option

Tote: Madewell

Until next time,