A member of the Gidit Dungai Facebook community, Manpreet, wrote that,

My friend's comment on how judgmental I am.

I think I'm always right, and better than others.

But I want to be more friendly to those who aren't as fortunate as myself.

I want to be a better person.

Wow, what a great goal.

We all have different approaches to self-improvement.

In the East, people seek to become enlightened and non-attached.

In the West, we just feel guilt and shame under the theory that living in misery will make us better people.

Manpreet's Facebook page shows that he wears dark sunglasses

and looks cool. In my experience, people who wear dark sunglasses rarely spend much time

feeling shame, so we'll have to find another way. It seems to me we get more judgmental as we

get older. Here's what I believe happens. We have poor memories for things that

are neutral or pleasant. Remember that teacher, the one whose name you forgot? Of course you don't.

He or she didn't have much emotional impact. But I'll bet you remember the teacher who was

passionate, the one who encouraged you, made you feel like you could do anything, and opened your eyes to the wonder and beauty of the subject.

Strong emotions get burned into memory. Without all that strong emotion, you would never have become an actuarial accountant.

Sadly, negative emotions are more powerful than positive emotions.

Science says so.

One bad meal at a restaurant can dissuade you from ever visiting again, even if you've

previously had several good experiences at the same place.

Because our brains pay more attention to the negative, we can emphasize the bad in an experience

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