“Are you blind? That’s the worst call I’ve ever seen!”

“That moron just cost us the game!”

“My goodness, my dog could do better than that!”

“How could you be so awful?”

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Do you ever hear or even find yourself hollering those types of things?

I have loved sports my entire life. I wouldn’t put myself into the category of a fanatic, but it requires extreme focus for me to walk past a sport-filled television or conversation about a game and not pay attention.

In my lifetime, I have most likely exceeded the socially acceptable limit of ridiculing officials. I still allow myself an occasional groan or mumble here and there, but after briefly trying my hand at officiating in my early 20s, I have just about completely rid myself of publicly shaming those hard-working folks.

Whether on the ballfield, at your job, behind the wheel of the car, or in your own home or head, do you expect others to be perfect? Do you yell, scream, curse, demean, or talk about people behind their backs when they fail to meet your expectations?

Sure, I may mess up occasionally, but I’m not as bad as them. Right? Stephen Covey said, “We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.”

You may not acknowledge that you expect perfection, but do your words, scoffs, gestures, subtle critiques, and lack of helpful leading insinuate that is your expectation?

Are you overly critical of yourself, implying that you should be perfect or even have the capability of perfection?