4 Daily Habits to Live a Truly Ethical Life

We all want to live an ethical life.  But what exactly does it mean to be ethical?  Well, at a minimum, being ethical means being honest and fair in your dealings with others.  It also means treating other people with respect.  And the best way to become a highly ethical person is to adopt daily habits that promote ethical behavior.

Now, realize that ethics aren’t the same as morality.  Ethics are generally agreed upon principles of right and wrong.  For example, we all can agree that it’s unethical to be dishonest. 

By contrast, morality is very personal.  And because it’s personal, there are lots of moral issues that we, as human beings, don’t agree upon.  For instance, we don’t agree about matters like abortion and the death penalty.  That’s because those aren’t ethical issues.  Rather, they’re deeply personal moral issues .

Ethical behavior, effectively, is the kind of behavior that society expects from each one of us.  And yet, we all fall short of that expectation from time to time!  So, living an ethical life is an ideal that we aspire to. 

The good news is that there are habits that you can adopt to become as ethical as possible.  Below are four daily habits that you can adopt to live more ethically:

Treat Everyone with Respect

We all know that in order to be an ethical person, you need to treat others with respect.  Yet, how many people do you know who regularly treat others with disrespect?  Sadly, I know too many. 

The challenge is that if you point out someone’s disrespectful behavior, they’ll try to excuse it.  They’ll explain that they treated someone disrespectfully because “I was tired.” Or, “I was sad.”  Or, “I was aggravated.”  The list of excuses that people make for treating others with disrespect is endless.

But to live ethically, you must treat others with respect no matter what.  To do so, you need to be able to (1) exercise self-control, (2) develop your emotional maturity, and (3) hold yourself to a higher standard of behavior. 

What you’ll find is that people tend to disrespect others only when they think that they can get away with it.  So, you’ll see folks who are highly respectful and cordial in public.  They’ll be the kind of people who are highly thought of amongst their friends and colleagues.  They’re very careful with their public behavior because they don’t want to lose their social standing or be seen poorly at work.  But in their homes, they’ll treat their family members with complete disrespect.

For instance, I’ve seen husbands who treat their wives with utter disrespect.  Why?  Because they can get away with it.  They know that behind closed doors their wives will put up with their behavior.  So, they’re disrespectful toward their wives because there are no consequences for their actions.  Their ethical standard is this: What can I get away with? 

I’ve also observed disrespectful behavior in families.  Siblings are notorious for treating each other with disrespect if no parent will step in to control the situation.  Sadly, the kind of behavior that occurs in families and behind closed doors can be appalling.

So, if you want to be a truly ethical person, decide that you are going to treat all people with respect at all times.  Don’t be the kind of person whose behavior is dependent upon who you are dealing with, or whether you are in public or private.  Be the kind of person who treats others with respect no matter what because you aspire to be an ethical individual.

Operate with Integrity in All That You Do

Ethical people conduct themselves with integrity.  What does it mean to conduct yourself with integrity?  Well, it means that you are trustworthy.  You don’t try to get away with stuff.  Instead, your word is your bond.  People can believe what you say is true, and you do what you say you’re going to do.

I know people who think that words just don’t matter.  So, they lie and make commitments which they have no intention of keeping.

The problem is that words do matter.  Commitments matter.  Ethical people know this.  And when an ethical person makes a commitment, you know that they will meet that commitment.

Now, unethical people who don’t operate with integrity think to themselves, “Well, what’s the big deal?  So what if I lied?  So what if I said I’d do something, and then changed my mind?  That’s my prerogative!”  It’s true.  It’s your prerogative to change your mind.  Frankly, you can lie and be untrustworthy, and as long as you aren’t breaking the law in doing so, not much will happen…

Except, you’ll destroy all your relationships.  Because no one wants to deal with unethical people who they can’t trust.  So, you certainly can be untrustworthy.  But pretty soon, you’ll be alone.

So, if you want to live an ethical life, be someone who is trustworthy.  Be honest.  Do what you say you’re going to do.  If you do so, you’ll not just be a highly ethical person, but you’ll be the kind of person who everyone truly admires.

Act Ethically Toward Other Creatures and the Environment

What I find is that people can get on board with the idea that it’s important to treat other humans ethically.  They can agree that’s important, not just for themselves and their families, but for society as a whole. 

But if you ask people to treat other creatures and the earth ethically, many people become very irritated.  For instance, if you ask people to treat chickens, cows and pigs ethically, some folks get incredibly bent out of shape.  Or if you suggest that we need to be more careful with how we treat the earth, some people become very irritated.

Why?  Why do human beings resist treating other creatures and the earth in an ethical manner?  Well, humans have a very misguided view that the earth and all its creatures are just there for our consumption.  It’s all there for us to use and abuse with reckless abandon.

So, their rationale is that if animals suffer in order to become our dinner, well, what of it?  They exist for our use.  Similarly, if we cut down forests, and destroy habitats, what of it?  Those trees are solely there to make our houses and furniture.  And it we throw garbage into the ocean, what of it?  The ocean is a vast repository for our junk.  Right?

You get my point.  Human beings seem to care about ethics only if those ethics directly benefit humanity.  But that is a very limited way of looking at ethical behavior.

To be truly ethical, your ethics need to apply beyond what’s good for human beings.  Ethical living requires us to consider everyone and everything.

So, if you really want to live a more ethical life, get into the habit of asking yourself the tough questions.  For example, ask yourself, “Is it ethical to cause others to suffer?”  If your answer is “no,” then war is wrong.  Similarly, if it isn’t ethical to cause suffering, then having chicken for dinner is equally wrong.

Another question you might ask yourself is this: “Is it ethical to contribute to global warming?” If your answer is “no,” then is it ethical to drive a car?  After all, cars emit greenhouse gasses which contribute to global warming. 

I’ll concede that living an ethical life isn’t simple.  Ethical questions are not easily answered and have been mulled over by human beings for millennia.  And the reality is that most of us will not live perfectly ethical lives. But if we want to live more ethically, then we need to get in the habit of considering not just ourselves, but also our effect on other creatures and the earth.

Read, Reflect and Think about Ethical Issues

If you asked most people if they live ethically, I’m sure they’d say “Yes, of course I do.”  But if you drill down with them, you’ll find that most folks haven’t actually analyzed whether their daily actions are ethical or not. 

So, if you want to live a truly ethical life, you have to give some mental energy to whether you are, in fact, operating ethically.  That means developing the habit of regularly thinking about ethical issues.

After all, whether an act is ethical or not isn’t necessarily obvious.   Let’s take the example of honesty.  As I stated above, we can all agree that one component of ethical behavior is being honest.  But being ethical also requires us to not intentionally hurt other people.

So, to be ethical, we have to weigh our desire to express our honest thoughts against our ethical obligation not to hurt other people.  “Does this dress look good on me?”  “Do you like my husband/wife?”  “Did I do a good job?”  If the answer to any of those questions is “no,” then we have to consider whether it’s ethical to offer an honest answer.  

Realize that just because a statement is true, that doesn’t mean that it’s worth saying out loud.  To be ethical, what we say should be not just be true, but it also should be kind and useful. 

The point is this:  If you want to live ethically, you have to be thoughtful.  You need to mull over everything that you do and say, and then they try to make the most ethical choices possible.  In short, you shouldn’t just be saying and doing whatever flies into your head. 

Given the above thoughts on living an ethical life, I’d suggest that you now ask yourself this question: “How many truly ethical people do I know?”  Probably not all that many.  That’s because not many folks are concerned with ethical living. 

But if you would like to be a superior, ethical individual, give some mental energy to ethical questions.  Get in the habit of reading and thinking about ethical issues.  Read philosophy and religious texts.  Think about current events through an ethical lens.  And give a lot of thought to whether your words and actions are truly ethical.

If you wish to live a more ethical life, consider incorporating the above habits into your daily life.  By practicing these habits consistently, you can lead a more ethical life and ultimately you will have a more positive impact on the world. (To read about creating positive karma by living an ethical life, click here.)