What is the difference between judgment and evaluation?

A friend of mine once told me that alongside every truth there is a lie, that one person’s ceiling is another person’s floor, and that following a truth is like walking a razor’s edge: it is easy to fall by mistake. I find that defining the difference between evaluation and judgment falls into this fine line category. When I start to define the evaluation, I feel that I am moving towards the judgment, and when I start to describe the judgment, I am moving towards the evaluation.

So what is the difference between judgment and evaluation?

The evaluations are positive. The judgments are negative. Ratings help you decide what you want most in your life and create a sense of connection. Lawsuits can create confusion and separate you from others. The ratings are expansive in nature; judgments are constrictive. Ratings give you freedom of choice; judgments limit your behavior and that of others. Assessments simply state what “is” in a neutral and objective way. The judgments indicate a dogmatic and subjective value. Evaluations can be seen as a mental or scientific approach, while judgments are emotional in nature and often suggest a self-righteous, moral approach.

I encourage you to re-read that paragraph. Go slow. challenge it. process it. Which parts ring true to you? Which parts arouse some deep emotion? Obviously, I encourage you to move towards evaluation versus judgment. challenge that.

“Okay, enough comparisons and enough challenges,” you say. “What is the difference between judgment and evaluation? I still don’t understand. How can I decide if I like something if I don’t have an opinion or judgment about it? How can I judge whether it is good for me or not?” for me? I’m confused”.

This confusion is the razor’s edge I spoke of earlier. Discerning the difference between judgments and evaluations in some areas is very easy, while in other areas it is very difficult. It’s something you just have to play with and watch very closely. Let’s see some examples.

Here are some statements that are critical: He is ugly. I think he is stupid. I’m so dumb Can you believe that she is wearing that dress? That guy drives like he’s half asleep.

In each of the judgment statements, the speaker assumes that he knows something about something that he really knows nothing about, and the statement sounds very opinionated. Also note that the speaker is putting himself in a superior position. Expressions of compassion and understanding are not present. The general tone is scolding or ridiculous. The main position is I know what is right and what you are doing, wearing or saying is wrong!

Here are some test statements: He is six feet tall and weighs 95 pounds. Every time I ask him to do this task, I have to show him all the steps. I find that I keep repeating the same pattern over and over again. The red dress he was wearing had nine yellow dots the size of basketballs, placed four inches apart. He drove his car down the highway at 26 mph. I saw him for a glass of milk in his gas tank.

In the statements above, notice that the descriptions are expressed in detail. Adjectives describe very specific traits. No opinion is expressed, and the speaker makes no assumptions. He is only describing what he sees. There is no presenting right or wrong. It’s all very factual.

You say, “Well, I don’t like red dresses with yellow dots the size of basketballs.” Alright. In fact, it’s good that you know what you like to wear and what you don’t like. However, you are in court when you state, “That dress is ugly, and anyone who wears it is stupid and obviously has no taste!”

And you might reply, “I know style. That’s my job, and I know that red dresses with yellow polka dots are disgusting and anyone who wears them or suggests someone should wear them is crazy and stupid.”

Do you notice how this position creates separation? Notice the position of self-righteousness? Do you notice all the assumptions? Who is defining what is ugly and what is stupid? Whose taste in clothes is “correct”? The above speaker assumes that he knows the “correct” answer to all of these questions. Beauty, intelligence, and fashion are all subjective and relative to some arbitrary standard that someone has set. We have all been told that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Judgments indicate a position of self-righteousness. The underlying assumption is that I’m right and you’re wrong, and that you should do what I do and think the way I think. If you don’t, well, the judgment will be directed at you. Reviews describe what you see, hear or feel. They reflect an attempt to discover what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. The underlying foundation is the knowledge and acceptance that what works for me may not work for you and what works for you may not work for me.

Over the next week, watch how he describes people, places, and events. Ask yourself if you are evaluating or judging what you are seeing. How does it feel when you accurately describe what you see? How do you feel when you judge what you see? Be aware of how your body reacts. I also encourage you to listen to how other people describe people, places, and events and see how you react to their evaluations and judgments. So you might want to ask yourself what process, evaluating or judging, sets you free and allows you to create more of what you want in your life.

A process to free yourself from judgments

1. What do you judge of yourself or of others?

2. What do you tell yourself about the people you judge?

3. What should/shouldn’t the people you judge do?

4. Who taught you these rules?

5. How do your judgments separate you from others?

6. What do you want?

7. What can you do to create what you want?

8. Are you willing to take action? When? As?

9. What can you do the next time you find yourself judging?

10. Is there anything else you can do to feel complete right now?