How to Choose to Do the Right Thing

No one ever said that doing the right thing was easy, only that it was worth it. Making the proper ethical choice can be especially tricky when the options are clouded, as they so often are, or when every decision seems to entail some kind of compromise. Philosophers and religious thinkers spend their entire lives pondering such ethical questions and can't always come up with a solution. For most of us, however, tough choices become easier when we think about them in terms of doing the right thing, and although it may hurt initially, it invariably makes things better in the long run.

Instructions

1. Ask yourself how your decision will affect other people. Take their feelings and considerations into mind and think about them in terms of the Golden Rule: treat other people the way you want to be treated.

2. Follow basic ethical principles. This means being responsible, fair, respectful of others, trustworthy, and civic minded. Make the choice that adheres to those notions as opposed to those that translate into money, material goods, or popularity.

3. Think in the long term rather than the short term. Choices that create benefits for a larger number of people over time tend to be more ethically sound than those that serve only immediate goals or those that benefit a small number of people.

4. Examine the choice from a publicity angle. If CNN were covering your decision or the local newspaper ran a banner headline on it, you'd want it to appear admirable instead of merely self-serving.

5. Ask yourself if your mother would approve of what you're doing. You'd be surprised how often asking yourself this question translates into doing the right thing.

Tips & Warnings

• Ethical choices can sometimes be a matter of opinion. Indeed, many of our culture's deepest political schisms stem from different interpretations of right and wrong. Follow your conscience when facing difficult choices and listen to the "little voice" that lets you know the right thing to do. Sometimes doing the right thing means doing what's good for you. Most codes of ethics frown on selfish behavior and admonish people to think of others first, but if you're in a position where someone else is exploiting you or taking advantage of your good graces, then extracting yourself from the situation definitely constitutes doing the right thing.

• Beware of rationalization. Almost any morally bankrupt act can be explained away by honeyed words, and some of the worst perpetrators of unethical acts devised convenient excuses for themselves in to justify their behavior. Look at the meat of the problem and its impact on everyone involved rather than finding an excuse to do as you please.