Creating Positive Karma: The Power of Living an Ethical Life

Very often people dismiss the concept of karma.  They view karma as sort of a new-agey concept.  However, karma is simply the idea that every action has a consequence.  Good actions have positive consequences, and bad actions have negative consequences.  You don’t have to be a scientist to know that this is true!  So, we all should be striving to create positive karma in our lives.

Now, some people simply don’t believe in karma.  They don’t believe that their actions have consequences.  So, they go through life treating others disrespectfully.  Or, they may be rude and aggressive if they are upset.  And they naively think that there will be no consequences to their actions.

But if you are disrespectful, rude and aggressive, there will be consequences.  The same holds true for being dishonest and irresponsible.  Admittedly, you may not experience immediate consequences for your bad behavior.  But let me assure you, there will be consequences.  At some point, folks will view you as untrustworthy and unethical, and they’ll keep their distance from you. 

The good news is that karma works for good behavior too!  If you are kind, patient and generous, people simply will want to be around you.  They’ll want to help you and be good to you.  Positive karma is just that powerful.

The simplest analogy for karma is this: If you plant weeds, you’ll grow weeds.  And if you plant roses, you’ll get roses!  Karma (and life) is just that uncomplicated.

Below are ways to create positive karma in your life.  Work at being a good, ethical, top-notch human being, and improve both your life and the world!

To Create Positive Karma, Practice Kindness

Kindness is a word that we toss around a lot these days.  You’ll see bumper stickers that say, “Practice Random Acts of Kindness.”  Or, you may hear the phrase, “Kill people with kindness.”  The word is so often used, that we don’t think about what it really means.

Realize that to be truly kind is hard.  It takes a level of emotional maturity that many people simply don’t have.  That’s because being kind isn’t about other people.  Being a kind is about you.  Kind people are kind, no matter what other people are doing.

In short, kindness isn’t circumstantial.  To be a kind person means that you’ve chosen to be good, decent, generous and respectful of others regardless of how others act.  That isn’t easy.  It takes emotional maturity.  And it takes self-control.

But the good news is that when we are kind, we create positive karma in our lives.  When you are kind to others, two things happen.  Your relationships with others improve.  People will want to be around you.  They’ll trust you because they know that you are going to treat them with kindness at all times.

The second karmic consequence of kindness is that you’ll attract other kind people into your life.  And the unpleasant folks will go by the wayside.  That’s because kind, mature people want to be around other kind, mature people.  And immature, rude, difficult people simply feel uncomfortable around kind people.  After all, if you are kind and patient with someone, they feel awfully stupid when they act poorly.

So, be kind and enjoy the many karmic benefits of simply being good to others. 

Act with Honesty and Integrity

Unfortunately, there’s a certain segment of our population that is dishonest.  They don’t act with integrity.  Instead, they like to see what they can “get away with.”

They are the folks who don’t pay their child support.  They’re the people who apply for government benefits that they aren’t entitled to receive.  Or, they short-change people on transactions.  And here’s the bad news: They typically “get away with it.”

Sort of…  You can get away with being dishonest, and not suffer immediate consequences.  But the long-term consequence of unethical behavior is that people won’t trust you.  And no one wants to interact with folks who they don’t trust.  So, your circle of friends, family and acquaintances inevitably will shrink if you are dishonest and act without integrity.

Better to boost your karma by acting honestly and with integrity at all times!  That means that your word should be your bond.  If you commit to doing something, then do it.  Don’t come up with excuses for why you won’t keep your word.  And it means being honest in your dealings with others.

The karmic benefit of being forthright and honest in how you operate is that people will view you more favorably.  They’ll see you as someone who is highly ethical.   And as a result, they’ll respect you.  Realize that no one respects dishonest people who act without integrity.  But we value and respect people who behave in a highly ethical manner at all times.

The secondary karmic benefit is that the more you act with integrity, the more people want to deal with you, professionally and personally.  After all, we’re attracted to people with a solid moral code.  We want to be like them, and we want to be around them.  So, don’t be surprised if your integrity karmically produces more career opportunities and more friends. 

Be Selfless and Regularly Help Others

One of the best ways to boost your good karma is to be selfless and help others.  Now, being helpful comes more easily to some folks than others.  I’ve known people who struggle to be helpful.  For instance, I’ve known folks who run in the other direction when there are dishes to be done or clothes to be folded and put away.  Being helpful doesn’t come naturally to them.

And for others, being helpful is part of their nature.  For instance, I had a sister-in-law who was a naturally helpful person.  She couldn’t walk into a room without finding some way to be helpful.  As a result, she was an incredibly attractive person because she was so generous with her time and energy.

Whether you are naturally helpful or not, being helpful is a quality that you want to develop if you want to have good karma.  That’s because when you are helpful, people admire and respect you.  For example, I had an incredible amount of respect for my sister-in-law.  I thought that she was a model human being. 

Moreover, when you are selfless and helpful, people will want to help you in return.  Let’s face it.  If someone is selfish and only does things to make themselves happy, we figure, “That person doesn’t need my help.  He (or she) is pretty good at taking care of themselves!”  Whereas we want to help people who are selfless. 

So, be selfless and boost your good karma.  If you do so, you’ll not only lead others to admire you, but you’ll also inspire others to want to help you. (To read about how to be a more helpful person, click here.)

Care for the Planet

When we think about being “good,” we often limit ourselves to being good to our inner circle of family and friends.  But if you want to create positive karma in your life, you should be thinking about ways that you can be good to the earth and its inhabitants.

For example, my daughter is someone who I truly admire because she always is thinking about ways to care for the planet.  So, she’s a vegan because she doesn’t want her food choices to cause pain and suffering for animals.  And she recycles to help the earth’s trash problem.  She even has a bird feeder outside her bedroom window to care for our earth’s tiniest creatures.

And her pro-planet actions create good karma for her.  She is healthier because of her food choices.  And she experiences a little bit of joy each morning when she watches the birds have their breakfast outside her window.  Even more so, she radiates kindness, and that makes people respond to her favorably and want to be good to her in turn.

So, if you want to create good karma, really think about how your actions are affecting the earth and its creatures.  If you treat the earth and its inhabitants gently, you’ll be blessed with a gentle, non-violent world.  A world that we’d all like to live in.

If you are seeking to create positive karma, consider following the tips above.  If you do so, you’ll be rewarded with a better, happier life!