A scuffed shoe can belong to carelessness, hard work, or an unexpectedly difficult pavement.

A worn surface records that something happened, not why. The same scuff could come from not caring, from a job that is hard on shoes, or from a single bad kerb on an otherwise ordinary morning. People read appearance as character because it is quick, and quick readings are usually wrong in exactly this way. What you are seeing is evidence of contact with the world, which everybody has.

Catch yourself making one of these judgements this week and stop at the evidence. Noticing that you cannot tell which story applies is enough; you do not need to replace it with a more charitable guess.