Evaluation is merely a mental construct.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out. Much of why we consider things as good or bad depends on abstract measurements. We may be applying generally agreed upon units of measure, but their basis is made up. All this comparison often doesn’t change things, but it may alter how we experience and feel about them.
Evaluation via measurement by design stresses differences. It increases our tendency toward separation consciousness—the belief that we are separate from each other and from the divine, imperfect and flawed—and emphasizes the “need” for improvement.
This is exemplified by the business concept of the bottom line. Gross revenue is compared to expenses to determine profitability. This measurement, however, says little about the quality of a company’s goods or services, about its customers’ satisfaction, or how fulfilled its workers feel. PNL only exists on paper and doesn’t necessarily relate to the day-to-day experience of the company’s owners, staff, or consumers. Does having one or two percent more profit, make a company significantly better for all these people?
Today’s message reminds me, as I head into the beginning of a new year—typically a time of personal resolutions, especially those relating to perceived measurable shortcomings—to place more emphasis on experience and feelings than on measurements.
If I weigh 140 or 150 pounds, it doesn’t change who I am as a person. My good qualities and talents are the same. My appearance also likely is very similar at either weight. The small numerical difference probably doesn’t impact my health much either. But it certainly influences how I feel and think about myself.
In the coming new year, it will help me to focus on what is right, rather than what is wrong, particularly if the perceived failing is based on measurements. The more I accept, savor, and am grateful for what is, rather than evaluating it, the happier I will be.
How about you? How might less evaluation benefit you?