WEBVTT 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:26.289 Welcome back, everybody, to Thoughts If It Were 00:00:26.289 --> 00:00:32.049 You, Food for Thought by Neogentrics. Like I promised, 00:00:32.130 --> 00:00:34.929 we're going to go ahead and cover learning to 00:00:34.929 --> 00:00:37.609 use your moral compass, the morality trait of 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:42.789 goodness. It may sound like an old -fashioned 00:00:42.789 --> 00:00:49.009 term, conjuring up images of Jane Eyre or other 00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:52.789 historical heroines, but... It is also the foundation 00:00:52.789 --> 00:01:00.729 of living well and ethically, okay? Goodness 00:01:00.729 --> 00:01:07.010 acts as a compass, if you will. If Aristotle's 00:01:07.010 --> 00:01:10.670 virtues generally are a guide or a map for how 00:01:10.670 --> 00:01:12.670 to live, goodness is the compass that enables 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:15.549 us to read the map the right way and work our 00:01:15.549 --> 00:01:19.430 way up and work out which way to actually go. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.500 So this brings up the question, what is right? 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:28.799 Right is not used here to describe a predetermined 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:31.540 course of action, but the ones that is correct 00:01:31.540 --> 00:01:35.620 for you in that it is consistent with both Aristotle's 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:38.019 virtues and the description of a good life and 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.540 your own personal values. Crucially, your moral 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:43.980 compass points towards a life that will allow 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:48.530 you to flourish as a human being and hopefully 00:01:48.530 --> 00:01:51.829 to have few regrets about the way that you have 00:01:51.829 --> 00:01:56.230 lived in the past. You have to work out where 00:01:56.230 --> 00:01:58.950 you stand. Perhaps the first steps to becoming 00:01:58.950 --> 00:02:01.370 more conscious of your own moral compass and 00:02:01.370 --> 00:02:03.870 moving towards living a good life is to think 00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:07.549 about what you don't do well. What is your kryptonite, 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:11.969 as they say, when it comes to life? Okay? So 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:15.569 let's go over a couple of questions. Are you... 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:20.000 inclined to hesitate over decisions. If you are, 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:23.419 perhaps you spend too much time worrying about 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:25.800 what is the right thing to do and not acting 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:29.360 on your decisions. Or, maybe you're inclined 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.900 to act too quickly without thinking through the 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:38.039 consequences of your actions. Or, if it's not 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:42.099 that, maybe you're inclined to be swayed or influenced 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:47.039 by other people. Rather, than making your own 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.860 decisions. It is important to take into account 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:56.120 what others think, but if that conflicts with 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.780 what you think is right, or you are swayed by 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:02.099 them, don't you think that there's a problem? 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:06.919 Or maybe the last thing here. You're inclined 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.539 to hold too firmly to your own views. Even when 00:03:10.539 --> 00:03:12.639 everyone else you know, including people whose 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.539 opinion you value, thinks that you are wrong. 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:21.120 Being right isn't always the right answer. Once 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:23.139 you have identified your weaknesses, you can 00:03:23.139 --> 00:03:26.199 then start to think about how you might use your 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:29.379 moral compass to overcome them. We're going to 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:31.879 take a short break here, and then we're going 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:36.020 to copper, uh, copper, sorry, cover using your 00:03:36.020 --> 00:04:08.759 moral compass. Welcome back. Like I said, we're 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:10.300 going to cover using your moral compass now. 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:14.099 There are three main steps to using your moral 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:16.899 compass to inform your decisions and your actions. 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:23.339 First things first, gather information. The main 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:25.420 question you should ask yourself before you act 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:28.579 is, what do I need to know to make a better decision 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.480 about what to do? Well... The answer to this 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.699 question comes from your history and memories 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.279 of past situations that were similar, enabling 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:40.259 you to learn from your experience, both success 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:42.819 and failure, your understanding of what needs 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:47.339 to be done, and your values, and what you would 00:04:47.339 --> 00:04:52.980 need to do to act well, or how you could use 00:04:52.980 --> 00:04:54.920 the situation to improve yourself in some way. 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.839 Together, these sources of information will help 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:02.579 you to understand how you can apply what you 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.199 already know to the situation. It is vital that 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:07.759 you are honest with yourself about what you are 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:10.639 and are not capable of, and the effects of your 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.920 actions in the past as you will either otherwise 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.139 repeat previous mistakes. Stuff that you probably 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:20.240 don't want to do. As Einstein said, insanity 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:22.639 is repeating the same behavior and expecting 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:25.240 a different result. This process doesn't have 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:27.399 to take long. In fact, it may be done in just 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:29.699 a few minutes. It's the fact of going through 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:31.540 the processes effectively that is important, 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:36.600 not the time it takes. Two, evaluate and consider 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.899 the information that you have gathered. Now you 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:43.360 need to make a judgment about the relative merits 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:45.420 and values of all the information that you have 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:47.759 gathered. You also need to consider what kind 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.660 of action or response would fit your values and 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:53.439 would have a good effort for both you and those 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.740 around you. It's important to be open -minded 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:59.689 in evaluation. And you may want to involve other 00:05:59.689 --> 00:06:03.069 people at this stage. It's a good thing to seek 00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:06.610 help with difficult decisions or when you don't 00:06:06.610 --> 00:06:10.269 know what to do. But do be aware that if you 00:06:10.269 --> 00:06:12.389 have a tendency to hesitate or delay decision 00:06:12.389 --> 00:06:15.050 making, you may be playing to your weaknesses 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:19.850 instead of helping yourself. Third, decide and 00:06:19.850 --> 00:06:22.930 then do. This sounds very action focused, but 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:25.730 you also need to include consideration of How 00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.810 you act, boldly, carefully, gently, firmly, you 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.470 know, you get the idea, so on. Consider the effects 00:06:32.470 --> 00:06:34.850 of your actions on yourself and others. Crucially, 00:06:34.930 --> 00:06:38.170 the action that you take should express the way 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:41.209 that you hope or wish to be. You know, if you 00:06:41.209 --> 00:06:43.209 have a tendency to hesitate, then concentrate 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:45.990 on deciding and then acting swiftly. Understand 00:06:45.990 --> 00:06:48.110 that you can't know everything and everyone, 00:06:48.370 --> 00:06:51.209 and there will always be an element of risk in 00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:53.769 any decision. Sometimes the fact of the decision 00:06:54.490 --> 00:06:57.269 is more important than its content. Equally, 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.509 if you have a tendency to rush blindly in and 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:03.509 then take a moment to pause and then consider 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:06.410 the likely effects of your actions, including 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:52.040 the risks for you and others. Welcome back. Last 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:54.019 thing I want to cover, and this is a short segment 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:57.240 here for this last half of this podcast, living 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:00.220 well. At the end of the day, being good or living 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:02.639 well is all about balance. Balance between reason 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.959 and emotion, and between your needs and those 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.920 of others, and between pragmatism and the perfect 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.379 solution. You will have a reasonable chance of 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:15.980 achieving this balance if you say that you know 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:22.000 what you ought to do, in the situation. Drawing 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:25.180 on your experience, how to do it, and what effect 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:27.959 it will have on both you and others, rationally 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:34.360 and emotionally. Well, that only leaves one question 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:38.100 left. It's whether you can see a way in which 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:40.799 you can do this that is consistent with your 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.279 values. Remember, you need to keep your values 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:46.720 consistent, focus on the task at hand that you're 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.029 aiming for, Once again, gather the information 00:08:50.029 --> 00:08:56.389 that you need and build on it. Learn from past 00:08:56.389 --> 00:08:58.970 mistakes, but don't let them repeat themselves. 00:09:00.409 --> 00:09:02.269 Again, I want to thank you for listening to my 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:04.809 podcast. This is Food for Thought, thoughts if 00:09:04.809 --> 00:09:08.950 it were you, by Neogentrics. And remember, always 00:09:08.950 --> 00:09:11.809 consider the other person and your actions and 00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:15.490 the way they affect other people. Enjoy the rest 00:09:15.490 --> 00:09:15.850 of your day.