what does it mean to be of sound mind and good moral character

Since the kickoff of culture, everyone from kings and philosophers to monks and scribes has pondered the concept of what it means to alive a "good" life. How can nosotros know what it means to be a good man? While societal circumstances and expectations continue to evolve, this timeless question remains at the center every bit we try to live a life with true moral and upstanding purpose.

5 Reasons Why You Need a Moral Compass

1. Ground Your Identity
2. Protect the Greater Expert
3. Increase Self Confidence
4. Exist a Skilful Role Model
5. Foster Healthy Relationships

A moral compass helps provide an objective standard to help each of us define and accost our ethical or moral weaknesses. In essence, a moral compass helps the states define what kind of behavior is right and wrong in our lives.

For instance, without a moral compass, it'south more likely that you will make decisions without thinking through the consequences of your actions. In addition, you lot'll likely be tempted to stretch the truth when it benefits you to do so. With a moral compass, you'll find it easier to resist temptation through principle-based decision making. In other words, your choices will exist based on values you hold to exist true rather than on what'southward easiest to exercise in the moment.

Well-nigh eighty percent of Americans believe that the overall moral land of the nation is fair or poor, according to a contempo Gallup poll. In addition, respondents overwhelmingly hold the opinion that Americans are becoming more selfish and quack. In fact, 77 percent of Americans believe the land'due south overall sense of morality is getting worse.

Taking the time to research, define and attach to some objective standard for moral and ethical beliefs tin can aid each of us practice our part to keep this state of affairs situation from spiraling into farther crisis.

What is a Moral Compass?

If you go equally far back every bit the teachings of Aristotle, a moral compass is simply the benchmark against which you can measure the "goodness" of your individual actions and your overall life. For Aristotle, the definition of "good" was fluid – it meant living a life that allows one to flourish as a human being and have few regrets. Obviously, this definition isn't the same for anybody.

A finely tuned moral compass tin can provide a set of core values that help guide your decisions throughout your life. Ideally, there is a balance betwixt what's good for you and what's good for society as a whole. Although over time a person'south moral compass may evolve as information technology'due south shaped by various religious, societal and experiential forces, information technology should retain some core principles – like seeking peace and integrity or causing no damage, for example.

The most of import part of having a moral compass is using that moral compass. If we develop a moral compass then ignore its readings, it does us absolutely no skilful. And by "reading" your moral compass, we simply mean logically considering your choices in a given situation, making sure your internal ethics and values square up against the decisions yous make – are they aligned or are they in conflict?

v Reasons Why You Need a Moral Compass

There are several benefits to having a well-defined moral compass. Keep reading to find out how a audio moral compass and a business firm set of beliefs can help define your value system by providing a foundational guide.

i. Ground Your Identity

If you don't know what you stand for and what your ethics and behavior are, then it'southward very hard to make whatever moral choices at all, much less good ones. Past establishing and following a ready of moral values, you provide both yourself and those around you lot with a sense of consistency. You'll be less fickle or capricious when facing moral dilemmas because you can compare to past situations. With an unwavering moral standard, yous tin take a sense of absolute, rather than relative, right and wrong.

Your moral compass can define a set of personal values that volition guide your controlling, especially in ethically fraught situations. Examples of personal and family values include traits similar kindness, integrity, justice, dignity, family unit first, personal responsibleness, and more. When y'all know which of your ethical values is the virtually important to yous, this allows you to guide your behavior to support these virtues.

two. Protect the Greater Adept

The greater good is protected past a commitment to moral values, such as justice, kindness and disinterestedness. Treating others with kindness and supporting equitable opportunities for all can aid create a more inclusive and empowering society. The more nosotros strive to better the lives of others – even when they're very dissimilar from ourselves – the more we are able to build a truly moral society. And the more we steer articulate of knowingly causing harm to our fellow human beings, the same is true. Those who operate with the greater practiced in mind continually question whether their behavior measures up to their duties and obligations to something bigger than themselves.

3. Increase Self Confidence

People who know where they stand up on various moral and ethical issues typically feel a college sense of cocky-worth and cocky-conviction. They feel empowered to act co-ordinate to that lilliputian vox within their heads that guides them toward correct and steers them abroad from incorrect. There'south substantial show that people with a strong moral compass feel a higher sense of integrity, which leads to increased feelings of contentment, focus, grounding and purpose. Through the process of self-inquiry, self-reflection and personal transformation often required to effectively recognize and define one'south moral compass, you gain a more intimate sense of self, which but serves to increase confidence and self-worth.

4. Be a Good Role Model

Many people begin to think more deeply about their moral compass and personal code of ideals the moment they begin the task of parenting. Well-nigh people want to be a adept role model for their children, hoping to instill the ethical and moral framework that children demand to exist happy individuals and productive members of lodge. But you don't accept to exist a parent to be a role model. Y'all tin can as well be a omnibus, a teacher, a mentor, or a faith community leader – and each of these leadership positions requires you to empathise your own values and ethical stances so that you can guide the development of others.

In order to exist a trusted leader or role model, y'all must know who you are and what yous stand for – you lot must have a standard by which you can work through moral dilemmas that test you. In this manner, you can ascertain the ethical trade-offs that you are and are not willing to brand in a leadership position.

5. Foster Salubrious Relationships

People with a strong moral compass typically take healthier relationships and enjoy closer companionship with those effectually them. They are able to minimize harm and maximize positive contributions they make within gild. While these people may have a loftier sense of individualized self, they also can run into themselves as part of something bigger that should be nurtured and protected. Some may even argue that the ability to put others' needs in front of your own is what provides the very essence of humanity, which leads to healthier private relationships and a stronger, more connected order.

How to Observe Your Moral Compass

People find their moral compass in a variety of places – through influential role models, holy books or even your family values. An organized religion or a particular faith tradition tin provide a firm moral compass for many people. As long as your source of inspiration gives you an unchanging standard, you lot're starting in the right place. It'south unlikely that any 2 moral compasses are exactly alike, but nigh share common traits that help distinguish right from wrong.

Most people begin developing their moral compass around their own personal values, which typically begin developing early on in babyhood. Values can be influenced by a wide range of sources, including parents, other family members, friends, teachers, coaches, as well as from formal organizations similar churches, schools and community programs.

Long ago, some considered higher educational activity to be the main source of a moral compass for members of club, with its emphasis on moral philosophy. But over the centuries, post-obit the rise of scientific research, higher teaching pivoted to focus more on the world as it currently exists than how it should be – peculiarly within societal relationships. In other words, nosotros became more concerned with what is verifiable than what is proficient, which many feel has left society with a weakened moral compass.

In the end, defining, strengthening and consistently using one'south moral compass is extremely difficult and challenging. If you're interested in exploring your own moral compass, there are several outside tools that can help – for case, you can accept this love language quiz to discover out more about your preferences for giving and receiving beloved in relation to others in your life.

In addition, because family life is a key source for learning ethics and values, it can be helpful to better understand what values are being inherently communicated to your children through your family culture. To practise so, simply take the family culture cess. Doing so will put you in a more than educated position to begin to more intentionally teach your children the values and ideals you hope will eventually get a core role of their moral compass.

The Importance of a Moral Compass

A sound moral compass can assistance you strike the right residue in your life betwixt reason and emotion, practicality and idealism, and your needs likewise as those of others. In other words, a moral compass can guide you toward what y'all ought to do in a given situation, not just what you want to practice or even what others want you to do. The force of your moral compass helps define your character, which determines how people cull to interact with you.

Does having a strong moral compass mean never making a mistake or suffering an ethical stumble? Not at all – instead, those with a well-defined ready of moral values will be able to learn from those kinds of failings and use them to make better decisions in the future. In fact, it'due south oft the situations that test our moral fiber that aid make our moral compass stronger.

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Source: https://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/moral-compass.aspx