The Ethical Storm in My Head

The past few days I have spent my time tippy tapping away at the ethics application for my honours project. Filling out incredibly long application forms and answering seemingly repetitive questions has had my head swimming with ethics.

However my head not only swims with ethical applications but ethics of another sort.

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt “I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday” fly past in what is quickly becoming a storm in my head.

If we are the decisions that we make and there is so many things we need to consider if we are to make ethical choices...there can be an overwhelming amount of pressure.

The first choice presented to you in the morning is what to have for breakfast. A simple enough task.

However, is the cereal you chose Australian...is it GM free...is it organic and free of chemicals...is it fair-trade...is there any palm oil...???

There are days when this ethical storm causes such a headache before I even take my first mouthful of breakfast.

A good friend of mine said that “living an ethical life may feel like an overwhelming challenge but it is important to always remember that everything that you do contributes to a more just world and that makes you part of something bigger”.

This is true, we are not alone in our path towards an ethical world. Everyone is making small changes and those small changes add up.

Lots of small actions will create big change.

So after talking with friends and family, I came up with these pieces of advice to help you stay in one piece and not to spontaneously combust due to the ethical storm in your head...

•            Look after yourself – make sure that you take time for yourself. If you do not look after yourself how can you be expected to continue looking after the state of our world?

•            Celebrate achievements – celebrate the progress made in campaigns and our world no matter how big or small. India is celebrating its first year without a single case of polio; just another step towards ending extreme poverty.

•            Remember that change doesn’t happen over night – making ethical decisions is like a habit, you cannot change a habit over night. It is a series of small, decisions, choices and actions that will create change.

•            We are only human – no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. So it is important that we remember to cut ourselves some slack.

•            Stay positive, don’t dwell on the negatives – it can be so easy to focus on the lack of progress and feel that your ethical decisions are not making an impact, however I challenge you for every negative thought come up with three positives.

So with this advice in mind, the storm in my head is gradually subsiding and I can see the world and my decisions more clearly.

We can change the world. And stay in one piece.