what's the meaning of this sentence? "don’t let that color how you think of them" [closed]

Good or bad, habits have the same origins. They result in very different experiences, of course, but don’t let that color how you think of them.

I can't understand the meaning of the bold part. Thank you in advance

Solution 1:

In this context, colour means influence, so the text effectively reads "Don't let that influence how you think of them," i.e. "Don't think of them badly because of that."

Colour (verb) INFLUENCE

If something colours your opinion of something, it influences your opinion in a negative way:

• I'm sure my views on marriage are coloured by my parents' divorce.

• I'm trying not to let my judgment be coloured by that one incident.

Cambridge Dictionary

Solution 2:

As I understand the metaphor, it merely means that you shouldn't let the fact that habits result in very different experiences be determinative in your thinking about habits and induce you to look at them in a particular way, induce you to think habits have a particular aspect, a particular "colour"; in other words that characteristic of habits teaches you nothing about habits, which sounds rather like a truism.