From a good book on this subject:
Judgments do not open space for improvement because they substitute criticism and the rigidity of labels for good advice and discernment.
Judgment is not the same thing as discernment. Discernment can
draw on past experience, but it also notices the differences.
Past experiences are a source of wisdom, but judgments give false wisdom
because they do not see the situation for what it really is. Judgments also
say that the next experience will be the same as the last experience. This
is the same as saying that nothing has been learned, and also that there is
nothing to learn that could change things for the better.
Judgments are rigid thought forms attached to the thinker. If you judge your experiences rather than understanding and accepting them, you lock the energy into rigid patterns of perception that take your focus away from what could help you grow. Each time the judgment is made again, and the emotions around it remain unmoved, or intensify, the thought form intensifies. For example, 'Tm not a nice person," is a judgment and a label in place of compassion and introspection that could realize why you could have this judgment against yourself.
Intense judgments are usually made amidst a wave of strong emotion when a person's usual sense of things is overwhelmed, and there is a feeling of needing to push back, "make sense of the situation," or define it. While judgments do label and structure the situation, and therefore, can give a person a sense of making sense of things, they are also limiting. In this way, feelings of not having enough understanding, or personal power, are compensated for by imposing misunderstandings and judgments that bring an illusion of understanding, power and control.
Judgments are not necessary steps on the way to understanding. Judgments obscure the ability to use discernment. Discernment in observation and evaluation, learning and experiencing can all take place without judgment. Judgments simplify and rigidify. Judgments are outside of time. They exist after the experience in which they were made, and when the judgments remain, they have the power to influence future experiences to conform to the judgments. This limits your possibilities.