We all have horrible thoughts.

You can’t tell me you have never thought about hurting yourself or someone else, intentionally ruining things or just being defiant. If you believe you haven’t, you’re simply lying to yourself.

Doing the right thing means making decisions that are not solely for your own gain. Decision making is a big part of our lives. As soon as we wake up each day, we begin another marathon of decision making.

• To snooze the alarm or not
• To get out of bed or not
• To go to school/work or not
• How to respond to an email or text
• What and when to eat
• To leave the room, etc.

There are even more complex decisions, unlike the ones I listed above.

• Quitting a job
• Accepting an offer
• Choosing a house
• Hiring/Firing
• Starting a relationship
• Starting a business
• Buying a car, etc.

Life is about learning, growing and exploring, but it’s also about making the right choices. However, right is relative. What is right to me may not be right to you, and what is right to you may not be right to me. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “do what makes you happy”. Well, your happiness may be another person’s sorrow so when you’re choosing what’s right, always remember that bit too.

Doing the right thing is not always easy. It’s hard. I always ask myself before proceeding with a tough decision if I’ll be able to sleep at night. If it brings me peace and if it doesn’t haunt my dreams. Sometimes though, I still choose wrong and have that “I shouldn’t have” moment.

I’d like to hear from you. How do you ensure you do the right thing?

Mariam Shittu