---
title: ▍Be curious, not judgmental
created: 2026-06-27
modified: 2026-06-27
authors: Ted Lasso (2020 TV series)
category: Excerpt
---

> You know Rupert, guys have underestimated me my entire life. And for years I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, it was painted on the wall there. It said, <mark>“Be curious, not judgmental.”</mark> I like that.
>
> So I get back in my car and I’m driving to work. And all of a sudden it hits me. All them fellas that used to belittle me… not a single one of them were curious. You know, <mark>they thought they had everything all figured out, and so they judged everything, and they judged everyone.</mark> And I realized that their underestimating me… who I was had nothing to do with it. Cause <mark>if they were curious, they would have asked questions.</mark> You know? Questions like, “Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?”
>
> Which I would have answered: “Yes, sir. Every Sunday afternoon at a sports bar with my father from age 10 until I was 16, when he passed away.”