Your Personal Morality
The Foundation of Your Life
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“On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.”
- George Orwell
Personal morality is the core and bedrock of personal strategery.
Your values are the product of your morality and set the standards for living your life.
The topics of morality and values are so important and often the source of much confusion that this entire section is dedicated to the subject.
Your personal strategery plan can be a beautiful literary work of organized action plans but will lack meaning and effectiveness if it does not reflect your morality and values.
So, before going any further, this section of the book will be used to “set the table” for creating your personal strategy plan by making sure the concepts of your personal morality and values are clear.
First, we will consider moral code, moral imperative, and the importance of operating ethically.
As humans, knowing our ethics creates a keener awareness of the choices made every day.
An internalized moral code also promotes insight into the world around us because we can judge situations objectively instead of reacting emotionally.
As a result, we become less judgmental and more tolerant of differences in opinions. This allows us to accept diverse points of view even though they might seem contradictory at first glance.
Therefore, a clear understanding of your morality is vital to having depth, meaning, and purpose in your personal strategery.
Your Morality
A Moral Code is a set of defined doctrines, principles, and beliefs you revere.
Values are beliefs held so dear they are claimed, used, and defended. These distilled values guide behavior based on what we accept as right and wrong actions.
A Moral Imperative is similar to a moral code but is rooted in an internalized sense of obligation to behave only in specific ways according to standards set by our values regardless of external circumstances.
A Moral Code provides definition, and Moral Imperative prompts actionable standards.
Both Moral Code and Moral Imperative help define your personality and identity. They cannot be separated but are combined into a course of action you deem acceptable. Together, they provide an inner voice telling you when something is morally correct or incorrect.
Some refer to this as a “moral compass” that provides direction.
All combined, this is our “morality.”
The course of action is not necessarily clear-cut; sometimes, it may take some thought before deciding whether something is good or bad.
The best way to find out if this is true for yourself is to ask yourself some questions like these, for example:
Does something feel off to me, not quite right?
What do I think is right or wrong?
Is there any reason I should act differently than my morals tell me?
If so, should I behave differently, and how will I know when I act correctly?
How does this apply to others around me?
Will I feel guilty about doing things that go against my own beliefs?
Does anyone else agree with my ideas?
Do I want to live up to other people's expectations?
Am I willing to change my mind if new information comes along?
Can I trust myself to make decisions without being influenced by outside forces?
Are my values consistent over time?
Have I ever acted contrary to my own values?
Would I like to continue living according to my own moral code?
Do I wish to share my thoughts with others?
How do I want to treat others?
How do I want others to treat me?
Morality is also at the very center of our personal and business relationships.
Do you ever wonder why you get along with some people in a grand fashion, like “two peas in a pod?” While you can cut the tension with a knife from the first sight with others?
I venture to guess that the degree to which we get along is based on our inner sense of how much our moral codes overlap.
The more morality shared with another person, the stronger the filiation.
I'm just speculating here because I have no actual knowledge of the science, but I venture a guess that good old-fashioned human chemistry—body language combined with human hormones—is in the mix.
I also wonder if there is a sense of spiritual kinship, too, the “soulmate” factor. I believe “love at first sight” is possible. I also think that strangers can be married and fall deeply in love over time when they are willing to serve each other.
We all have our own moral code and should clearly understand it.
People have reason to rejoice and celebrate in the space where our moral codes overlap.
The four fingers of a hand can serve as a model.
Each finger represents the general elements of morality: doctrine, principles, beliefs, and values.
As we get to know another person, we overlay our “moral” hand onto the other’s hand, so to speak, and begin to explore to what extent the details of our individual morality overlap.
The amount of overlapping shared morality is what we have in common with one another. This serves as the foundation for a healthy relationship. The more overlap, the more in common we share and the stronger the relationship.
Just wrap those thumbs around for a firm handshake! (No elbow bumps here!)
I openly admit to being a handholder.
I have always enjoyed holding the hand of my wife, the sweetheart of my youth.
Holding hands is a beautiful symbol of love, trust, and common purpose. Two parties have agreed their individual morality is intertwined to such a degree they even interlock fingers.
So, think about that the next time you are holding the hand of someone you care about. Is your common morality unified and joined?
On the other hand (yes, that pun was intended!), when our morality does not match enough to be comfortable, we must explore and respect the space that does not overlap. Where we disagree. Then acknowledge each person is free to establish their own moral code and imperative.
If one does not align with another's moral code, they can CHOOSE not to associate. But love, empathy, and respect can and should, continue if all parties are willing.
However, a civil or possibly criminal deed that must be dealt with is a moral imperative that causes injury, takes property, or unduly diminishes another person's freedom to act.
There is morality in business too.
Individuals are free to choose how they employ their monetary, time, and intellectual capital.
However, when utilizing such capital, each individual is responsible for maximizing the return on their invested capital. This follows the principle of stewardship, the duty to care for and nurture that with which you have been blessed.
When two people agree to employ their capital as partners, they strike a bargain. It is then the right, even each party's duty, to maximize their return on capital following their personal moral codes. The more the individual moral codes of the parties overlap, the better the outcome is likely to be for both parties.
Personal Strategery Mindset Shift #8: Personal Morality is the Essence of Who You Are
In the next post of this series on Critical Thinking, we will explore doctrines, principles, beliefs, and values.
Thanks for reading and thinking for yourself! Be sure to subscribe so you do not miss out on future posts.
Russell Anderson
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