Ethics in Our Personal and Professional Lives

While reading the book, ‘Happiness’ by Matthieu Richard, chapter 22,  I came across some amazing information on Ethics as the’ Science of Happiness’.

It discusses Buddhism and that ethics is not just ways of acting, but a way of being.  As humans we have evolved and have the qualities of loving-kindness, compassion and wisdom.

According to the book, in Buddhism, an act is unethical if it is to cause suffering and ethical if it brings genuine well-being to others.

The book discusses ethics as our own well-being; making suffering in others will bring suffering to ourselves. The chapter further discusses mindfulness, wisdom, and basic altruism that is deeply embedded in the mind and cultivated throughout life.

We must realize that motivation and consequences are important. What is our motivation? Work towards a positive outcome. Are we broad-minded or narrow-minded? Have we looked at the whole situation? Is our view too narrow?

Ethics at work……

In both our personal and professional lives we need to live by ethics and be open-minded enough to see the whole situation, to try a different strategy, to be willing to learn something new, or change our focus to meet the needs of our clients, patients, family, friends, colleagues, etc.

* the book is worth reading

*First published at:  http://northernmsw.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/ethics-in-our-personal-and-professional-lives/