Making Better Ethical Or Moral Decisions
We often assume that the most important or critical decisions in life involve material goods or monetary opportunities. Which car should I purchase? What type of home should I buy? Can I get a better paying job? Like a lot of assumptions, this one may be a mistake. That’s not to say that decisions that revolve around money or goods are unimportant or bad. It just that by focusing solely on these types of decisions, we may miss the opportunity to make decisions that are even more important and critical.
Ethical or moral decisions are sometimes much more important to the quality of life we lead than the decisions we make about money and the things we own. This is because the the very fabric of our lives is made up of or sense of ethics and morality. This ability to know right from wrong is extremely important. Without it, or without enough emphasis on its importance, we tend to become rudderless in the sea of life. We drift from one thing to another, never really sure if what we have is really what we want. This moral and ethical ambiguity can cause great unhappiness and hardship.
Ethics and morality consist of what we value most. They also consist of the ability to transfer these values, or the need for these values, onto others. This is not to say that we are forcing others to value what we value. Rather, it is a way of recognizing that our fellow human beings may share the same needs, desires and values that we do. In this way, moral thinking is a way of seeing beyond the self, and the needs of the self, and realizing the commonality of human existence and need. It is a way of seeing that we are more alike than different, and then valuing these similarities.
The best way to develop a improved ability to make ethical and moral decisions is to identify and quantify the things that are of value to you. The first step in this process is to think about the times when you were the happiest. Where were you? Who were you with? What were circumstances? What were you doing? The second step is to think about the times when you were the proudest. Again, what were the circumstances? What were you doing? Finally, think about the times you were most content/ Once again, where were you? What were you doing? When you ascertain the times and events that caused you to be happy, content and proud, you will have identified the things that make up your core values.