Meet Judgment.
Let’s meet the second voice at your Inner Board table: Judgment.
This voice often sounds like drive and determination, but underneath, it’s fueled by pressure, perfectionism, and the need to prove yourself. If you’ve ever felt like you had to do more or be more just to measure up, this one will feel familiar.
When Judgment speaks, you might hear:
“I have to do more. I must hustle and work harder. Everything needs to be perfect. I must fight to prove myself. I like to be right and control things.”
Sound familiar?
This is a go-to Inner Board Member for many high achievers. We can accomplish a lot with this energy—it creates the urgency and high expectations that push us to take action and reach our goals.
But while Judgment can be a powerful motivator in the short term, it’s not sustainable and can lead to negative consequences.
When we approach our work, relationships, or even health from this perspective, we get pulled into black-and-white thinking. We limit our ability to see other possibilities. We judge things as all or nothing, and believe that people—and ourselves—should be a certain way.
This can make us overly critical, both internally and toward others.
As leaders, over-relying on Judgment means we often don’t ask for help. We resist delegating or developing our team members. This breaks trust and strains relationships.
To sum up: Judgment can drive action and results, but it runs on perfectionism and pressure. Too much of it is draining, stressful, and leads to burnout.
To move beyond Defeat and Judgment, your next Inner Board Member to meet is Rationalization.