I gather that on the beginning of the first day, the leaders talked to the youth participants about a lot of different principles that they would be hearing about and learning. Each person was asked to set some personal goals for themselves for the next few days.

This “kid” told us that he set two goals.

No. 1: Look for the good

No. 2: Be slow to judge.

That he chose those goals was impressive to me. What was even more impressive was that he reported how he was amazed at the difference it made in his life during that week. He found out that looking at people from a different perspective than he was used to, made a big change in how he felt about people.

Under his usual way of thinking, seeing a “grumpy looking kid sitting alone” would be someone to avoid. With a “look for the good” and “be slow to judge” attitude, he found that understanding, and surprisingly, friendship could be achieved when such a person was interacted with.

That young man’s talk had an impact on me. As he said that he intended to keep those goals in his life for the long term, I thought to myself that I should try harder with those same goals.

Sometimes I feel like I’m too harsh in my judgments of people. It’s too easy to lose optimism and to become pessimistic about life. I don’t know why it’s sometimes so easy to see the negative first before noticing, if noticed at all, the positive.

(Did you hear about the mathematician who was frightened of negative numbers? He would stop at nothing to avoid them. — Sorry, that just popped into my brain.)

We’re all familiar with the optimistic and pessimistic way of looking at a partial filled glass of water. Is it half full (optimist) or half empty (pessimist)?

There are many other versions of that scenario. Here are a few.

The optimist says the glass is half full. The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The worrier frets that the remaining half will evaporate by morning.

The optimist says the glass is half full. The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The project manager says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

The optimist says the glass is half full. The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The psychologist says, “Tell me, how does the level of the water in the glass make you feel?”

There are lots of situations in life when people say and do things that I don’t expect. I admit, I frequently go to the negative way of thinking. I automatically feel like I know what motivated what was said or done. Then, I often find out that there is more to the story than I thought.

I saw a meme recently that showed a picture of a jigsaw puzzle piece. The message read something like, “Don’t think you know everything until you can see the whole picture.”

I recently had a good practice episode of the “see the good” and “be slow to judge” way of thinking. I ran into a friend at a store and was introduced to a young woman. She has moved here and is associated with my friend’s family.

I admit, the first things I noticed were tattoos, piercings and wildly colored hair. I was beginning to have a judgmental reaction. I then shifted quite quickly (pats myself on the back) to my newly adopted goals.

I found myself seeing and meeting a beautiful young lady with great eyes, complexion, and surprisingly to me – great social skills. We chatted a bit and had a great “getting to know you” moment. I was grateful that I didn’t lose the opportunity to get better acquainted with a new Sanpeter.

Speaking of the concept of being judgmental, do you remember ever hearing this?

Three things I cannot stand: stupid people, judgmental people, double standards, people who can’t count, lists and irony.

Or how about: I had to go to court today. I didn’t like it. Everyone was so judgmental.

I’m going to try to continue with my newly added goals. I think that looking for the good and being slow to judge are perhaps no more difficult than some other goals I have (or should have). Among other things, slowing down on ice cream and caffeine consumption aren’t easy. Let me tell you, if you don’t already know. — Merrill

P.S. Thanks to all who made the Sanpete County Fair a success. From my point of view, it was great. The rodeo was fun. The derby was a sell-out. The food options were good. The parade was enjoyable. (I ended up with a sack of candy and there weren’t even any kids near us.) Well done Sanpete!