Recently, I’ve been thinking about the story of Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who got her big break in the 2009 season of Britain’s Got Talent. In case you’ve never seen that specific episode, it’s well worth a watch (I’ve also embedded the video below).
It’s interesting to see how in a single moment the entire room realizes the assumptions they made about this woman were totally wrong. Especially moving is the response she gets from the audience and the judges at the end — one that is vastly different from their initial reactions when she introduces herself.
How often do we find ourselves in the same situation? We make assumptions about someone based on something irrelevant. In Boyle’s case, she was being judged by her appearance — but appearance has nothing to do with how well someone can sing.
It’s extremely tempting to do this. I know I have. Yet, how many times have we missed what someone else had to offer, simply because they didn’t look the part? How many times have we overlooked someone, or prejudged them, and later found out we were sorely mistaken?
Now, there is a difference between making a decision based on relevant evidence and in forming an opinion based on unrelated characteristics. In our lives, we all have to make judgment calls. The question is, What will those judgments be based on? Facts or assumptions?
This can be difficult. Which is why I’m glad for moments like the Susan Boyle episode. These kind of moments can remind us of how easy it is to judge prematurely, and will hopefully cause us to pause the next time we realize we’re heading down that road.
[https://www.youtube.com/embed/RxPZh4AnWyk]