You judge whether something is good or not every time you eat. So the frequency builds the habit.

But the habit isn't always helpful.

To spend quality time with my daughter Lucy, we decided on pottery painting at a place called Dish Out. It's a cool concept: you go in, pick a piece of pottery, and spend as much time as you want painting it. Then a couple of weeks later, you go pick up the final product.

Turns out the delay in gratification isn't the hard part. It's judging how good or bad your artwork is while it's still happening.

"This is terrible, it looks awful," said Lucy.

"I can see why you're saying that, but unless you're done, don't judge it now," I said. "You wouldn't judge how good a birthday cake is when it's still in the oven. You'd only pass judgment after you've eaten a piece. Just keep painting and let your creativity come to life."

The hard truth is, this goes well beyond a father-and-daughter trip to paint pottery. You judge yourself all the time before something is finished. So much so that you stop doing it altogether.

That ends today. Give yourself the space to perform and create before you judge. Do the same for the people around you. Remind them to save their judgment for the end, not the middle, or the end won't arrive.

What are you judging right now that isn't even finished yet?

P.S. We stopped judging and finished our artwork. Our final picture is below.

P.S. The Optimistic Outlook is a Podcast! Leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts would mean a lot.