Non-Judgement (Acceptance):

“I make judgements about how I feel.”

What is Emotional Non-Judgement (Acceptance)?

Emotional judgement refers to the tendency to have secondary (or meta-emotional) thoughts or emotions about our original emotion. For example, we may get angry about something and then start feeling guilt for feeling angry. When this happens, it is really our judgment of the original anger emotion as being bad in some way that leads to the rise of the guilt. When we are non-judgemental, we unconditionally accept our emotions and we don’t judge ourselves for having those emotions.

Why is it important to have this skill?

The ability to accept our emotions and not make negative judgements about ourselves for our feelings prevents a lot of excess negative emotions from emerging. Everyone has a right to his or her feelings. Feelings do not give us the right to lash out at others, but we are allowed and should not feel bad about having emotions. Emotions serve important functions and arise naturally. Judging them just waists vital energy.

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