Is doing the “right thing” self-evident? Is it something we all know instinctively? And if we do know what the “right thing” to do is, why don’t we do it?
I believe that as individuals, we know instinctively what the “right thing” to do is. There are countless stories of people doing amazing and often heroic things, and when asked why they did what they did, they inevitably respond, “It was the right thing to do.” They sure make it sound easy, don’t they? What holds us back, then?
The biggest barrier is time. Too much time to think makes us second guess ourselves or look at our options. We lose that immediacy with the thing we want to do. If we don’t think about something, we instinctively react. That’s why a homeless man can return $42,000 or someone can run into a burning building to save a life. They didn’t agonize over it, they just did it. When time passes doing the “right thing” loses it’s importance. We think that we’ll do it next time, or that we’re too late; someone else has probably done it already.
Another factor applies if you are a part of a larger group (it could be a family, a company, or even a government); it’s bureaucracy. You generally need to win the endorsement from one, or several key decision-makers. If you can’t get your team on the same page or some members have a different agenda, then that can cause problems. Often there are questions to be answered: How will this look to others; both inside and outside the organization? What are the costs and benefits of doing this? What are others doing? Attempts from these large bodies (especially governments) often come up short and feel hollow. The intention far outweighs the actual benefit to anyone and the best anyone can say is, “at least their heart was in the right place.”
Life is about making choices; daily, hourly, even by the minute if you really think about it. Choosing the words I typed here was a choice. Granted, most of the choices we make aren’t major life decisions, but add them up over time and they make a statement about who you are as a person.
We are too worried about making the “wrong” choice and that’s actually the obstacle. It paralyzes us from taking action, so we end up doing nothing, and feeling guilty about our inaction.
What if instead, we focused on the “doing” part. Just by doing something, anything, that’s better than doing nothing. And isn’t doing something the “right thing” to do? It’s up to you and me to do something each and every day to make the world a better place. We are the ones that make lasting impact, not by thinking about it, but by doing it.
Speak Your Mind