What is Good Judgment?

“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”

― Will Rogers 

Will Rogers was a humorist and wise philosopher, indeed. In the above quote, he suggests that it is experience that leads eventually to good judgment, but only after suffering from some stumbles. For example, the first time you had a crush on somebody, say, in first grade, did you know how to proceed? Did you know what to do? How to speak to that person? Probably not. As you grew and matured, you went through various stages of emotional growth, and again stumbled fairly frequently in the "opposite sex" arena. Each such experience taught you something, hopefully something positive to build on in the future, rather than encouraging you to take your marbles and go home. Each time you approached a member of the opposite sex, or wanted a member of the opposite sex to approach you, certain behaviors came into play. Those behaviors were ruled by various judgments you were making - about the person of interest, about the circumstances, your peers, and your own set of values. And each stumble leads you closer to the goal.

Consider that Edison tried 1000 different ways of making a light bulb, and finally succeeded. It was experience that told him that each effort was not successful, and that something else needed to be put into the equation, or taken out of the equation. So it is in all aspects of life. You exercise bad judgment in a situation, and the experience turns out to be a negative one; you exercise good judgment, and the experience is magnificent. 

Another example. Say you want to go to the beach. The weather is gorgeous, and you haven't been to the beach in two years. You ache to sit quietly on the soft sand and watch the seagulls crackle overhead. But it is Wednesday, and you are at work. You can exercise judgment and leave work right here and now, and drive down to the beach, and enjoy the experience. But the likelihood is that tomorrow, you will be called on the carpet for abandoning your work. That is the experience to be built upon: You went to the beach, but at an inopportune time, and got scolded (or worse) in the process - probably not a great feeling/experience. But suppose instead that you clear your calendar for Saturday, two days hence, and commit to taking that ride to the beach? Now you can not only enjoy the sand under your feet, but also know that the experience is clean and clear, and free from any possible negative consequences. Your judgment is to delay gratification, which produces better results.