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Showing posts from August, 2020

Getting to the why behind the Golden Rule

“Do unto others…” We’ve all heard the Golden Rule in one form or another. But as with all overly idealistic admonitions, we all too often end up merely pay lip service to it, don’t we? What if instead we worked out why such a rule is in our best interest to follow? In other words, I’m suggesting resorting to the good old “What’s in it for me?” framework. Lately, I was having one of my occasional “excogitations” — aka mental meanderings — as I was reflecting on some basics of interpersonal relationships. A few days prior, someone had accidentally (and unknowingly) overpaid me for a transaction. As a matter of course, I immediately contacted them and arranged to return the superfluous funds, which as you would expect, earned me some thank you’s for my honesty, etc. Now, there are many reasons why one might want to follow the straight and narrow path. For example, it could be out of religious belief. However, it’s not personally my cup of tea. Up until now, I would have tol