Everyone likes to think they can see the world clearly and as it is. That we can remove our rose-tinted glasses when we choose and correctly set the measure of what is happening around us. Objectivity is that wonderful state of removing your feelings and biases to evaluate what is happening.
On many things, this can be possible. Our emotions don’t rise to the level of bias on most things. Cats versus dogs – biased. Beige versus tan – objective. Objectivity comes from the ability to set aside emotions and experience to understand something as it is in that moment separate from yourself. As humans, the most difficult thing for any of us to do is to set aside ourselves.
When we make judgments or decisions, it’s important to realize that we aren’t doing so objectively. If we cannot realize our biases, preferences, failings, weaknesses, limited experiences, and occasional bad decisions, we cannot understand the impact of our decisions. Self-reflection is all about understanding how we can be wrong.