The Virtue of Ethical Self-Discipline!
Groucho Marx famously said, "the secret of success is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake those, you've got it made!" It's easy enough to acknowledge the benefits of ethical behaviour - in principle. But the practice of business, government, and community affairs is often at odds with what seems "right". The number 1 reason for ethical violations in business is the pressure to meet expectations, sometimes unrealistic expectations. So how do you develop and sustain the ethical self-discipline to stand firm when all about you are bending? The second practice for living life wisely is the virtue of ethical self-discipline. There are three kinds of ethical discipline: 1. The moral discipline of restraint from non-virtue , in particular: Do not kill - instead, support life in all its forms as much as possible. Do not steal - which means to not knowingly gain from another's misfortune or ignorance. Do not deceive - which means to be honest