My shopping cart pulls to one side
I go to the nearby Walmart store often. As soon as I enter, I pull out a cart from the train of carts and go into the aisles to pick up the stuff. Some days, after pushing the cart for a few feet, I realize that the cart is not going straight. It tends to go left or right. I don't like its erratic movement. But, I am reluctant to walk back to the entrance to pick a good cart. So I continue to walk ahead.
If I allow the cart to move as it likes, it will soon hit a person or the shelving. In my mind, I curse the defective cart and the store people for not taking such carts out of circulation.
To prevent any mishap, I realign the cart every few feet to make it go straight. I complete my shopping without an incident.
One day it occurred to me that my mind also behaves like a defective cart sometimes. I am aware of my mental bias pushing me to make unwarranted judgments of people. If I go by the dictates of my mind, I will regret my judgments and consequent words I speak or actions I take.
Whenever I am aware, I resist the tendency of my mind to make baseless judgments. I make a deliberate effort to make correct judgements. If I don't know the facts to make a correct judgment I tell myself "I don't know enough about this person to make a judgment. I try to stick to 'I don't know." I practiced this self correction for many years. As A result, I have developed an auto prompt for self correction of my mind. It has become natural and spontaneous process.
I have less regrets.
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