We all like to think of ourselves as good, honest people. Or at least most of us do. We like to think that we have integrity and, given the chance, we’d do the right thing. Well, maybe we are…
but what if we aren’t?
Photo by alexanderdrachmann
Can You Look In The Mirror?
I recently listened to a podcast from TED on NPR entitled “‘The Honest Truth’ About Why We Lie, Cheat and Steal.” There was some very interesting research that comes out when people are asked to tell the truth about things. As it turns out, we, meaning the vast majority of people, don’t lie alot but rather, just a little bit.
The research from over 30,000 people shows that we tend to lie as much as possible where we’re still able to look at ourselves in the mirror. But that little bit by so many people ends up costing WAY more than the big lies that just a few people do.
Thus the cheating part. We may only do it a little bit…but it still cheating. And when we do, we almost always weigh the cost of it, you know, for moral reasons.
And you basically look at the cost and benefit, and if it’s a good deal, you go for it.
– Dan Ariely
Dr. Ariely makes some very interesting points in this and it got me to thinking about how the two fit together. What if we cheat ourselves just a little bit?
Oh yeah, morals.
Well that would mean that a little over a long time would add up to a whole lot. That would mean that we essentially trick ourselves out of success or money or learning or morals. Or really a whole lot of other things. So here’s a few tips for checking up on yourself.
- Be honest with yourself.
- No, seriously. Be honest. Don’t sugar coat your actions.
- Ask your closest friends or your spouse what they think.
- Pray.
- Look in the mirror and ask yourself.
- Pray some more.
- Make changes. Because we ALL need to.
Personal Morals and Ethics
From a personal standpoint, maybe we’re allowing ourselves to slip in the spiritual sense. We’re not close enough to our creator or have a relationship with HIM at all. Maybe we’re not the father or husband we need to be. Maybe we’re lying to ourselves just a tad and it’s taking it’s toll on our lives before we even know it.
Business Morals and Ethics
From a business sense, maybe we are cheating ourselves out of profit. Maybe if we’d be honest and realize that times are changing and the writing is on the wall if we don’t take action now…maybe we could change the course of our lives, or history. Let’s bring back those old fashioned morals our momma (hopefully) taught us.
What’s holding you back from making changes? Are you being honest with yourself? What other areas could our cheating “just a little bit” make a huge impact on our future?