To judge whether you are using ethical behavior, especially when no one’s looking [see the last post], ask yourself these questions.
1. Would I act this way if I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the same action would be inflicted on me in the future by someone else?
Does this make you think twice about taking advantage of another? The old adage “What goes around comes around!” does have truth in it.
2. Am I living up to my commitments?
If you goof off in your job or create dissension among co-workers or inject negative energy into the work environment in any way, you are not living up to the commitment you made when you were hired or when you took on the responsibility of being an employer yourself. This is not ethical behavior.
3. Am I experiencing gain at the expense of another?
You cannot maintain the energy required to sustain a position or status you “stole” from another. It is not a universal law that there must be a loser if there is to be a winner. You must earn your own place.
4. Do I judge the rightness or wrongness of my action by whether anyone knows about the act?
This is the very essence of ethics. It isn’t about what you do or who knows about it. It is about who you are, which means that you would act the same whether you are alone or in front of a TV camera with millions of people watching.
Although we have only lightly touched on these points, you can see that unethical behavior can affect every aspect of your life. You may wonder why there is now such an interest in ethics and ethical behavior? I believe it is because we, as humans, are in the throes of change, and the motivating force behind that change is Love.
This is not love as most of us define it. This Love is cosmic. It is vast. It is the cosmogonic spark which ignited the Universe. If we can learn to use the energy of this cosmic Love to function, we will always seek to do that which does not harm any other, and that is what ethical behavior is – behavior expressed from Love!
All the best on your quest,
Dannye Williamsen
The Solopreneur’s Coach
“The Edge You Need To Prosper™”
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