How do you sometimes forget? Like Lawrence said, just use the golden rule, and you'll be fine. Lots of people make excuses for why they act hard-hearted, but really they are just taking the easy way out of doing what others are doing, not standing up for what is right, being biased, treating others unequally, etc.
Hey pane123, I don't know what your reasons for forgeting are, but I get it, happens to me, too, sometimes. With loads of shit thrown at one it sometime is hard to remember why exactly one should act like "a decent human being" as you phrased it. But the others are right, it's not about others treat one, but about how one would like to be treated by others, which should be one's standard for behaving like a good person =)
I try to live my life by the following. Enjoy life for what it is rather than what it could be. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Stand up and defend those unable to defend themselves Don't be a doormat for people, yet express yourself in a diplomatic and tactful way Don't concern yourself with how others live their lives if it doesn't affect your own.
I really like what FrozenFae had to say. Ditto everything he said! If I could borrow that for my life motto I would like to.
Always be empathetic, always be considerate, always put others first and never do anything that you know will hurt someone else. If you must, then actively fight anything that will cause someone pain to the best of your abilities and consider apologies/making it up. That's my philosophy for being a good person at least. It's kinda painful, and I screw up all the time, but I adhere to it the best I can.
Altruism is a characteristic that's inherit in the majority of humans. It is beneficial to be like this because you are basically expecting the same to be done to you. If it wasn't expected to treat other people properly then people who have a hard time being good people would basically ruin everything for the rest of us. If you are selfish by nature it isn't the worse thing, again being selfish was partially beneficial because you were looking out for your survival rather than for others. Now that everything is modernized, being selfish really has no merits, and it's a trait some people just have to live with. It can be confusing to define the line between good and bad though. I always find it weird that we expect eachother to treat eachother with respect, but it's ok to mass slaughter animals, and destroy the planet. I know obviously being good to your own species is beneficial, but that's only a "genetic goodness", being overall good, to the planet and all life, is actually a really hard thing to do that most people aren't doing. The majority of humans are only selectively good, where it is suited for their benefit, which really is no different than a pack of wolves taking down a young caribou. It's all for survival, if there wasn't a benefit to treating others right, we'd all be killing eachother right now. What I mean to say is, we aren't really good, most of our good deeds are done in hopes of a reward, which in itself is selfish. Even doing a good deed because it feels good is selfish, you are doing something to make yourself feel good. It's virtually impossible to not do anything without inadvertently being selfish. The question you should be asking is "How should I be a deserving member of society", because your not really being good, you are just proving worth being on this planet. People that are completely in it for themselves, with lack of empathy, have no value to our current society.
Hi there, I guess just try to treat people with genuine kindness and respect, regardless of how they treat you back. Its easier said than done. Cheers! Cigsmoker [Sam]
Respect everything. People, confidences, art, work. Anything you see around you. And always try to see things and situations in more ways than one. Empathize. Things like that
I disagree. Not everyone likes to be treated the same way. For example, I don't like black licorice, but my Mom does. If she tried to treat me the way she'd like to be treated by buying me black licorice, I'd be disappointed. A better rule is 'treat others as they'd like to be treated, as long as that causes no harm to anyone.'
Just be a kind person. Everyone has different beliefs, different lifestyles, different ways of thinking and expressing themselves. Just remember that these differences are what makes people wonderful. treat people with love and respect regardless of race, religion, sexuality, likes, dislikes, appearance ect. thats it.
It is interesting that you point it out. I never was eloquent with words. Semantics? I think OP knows what I meant. Another poster said respect and that works well. You do want to be treated the same way. Perhaps not the EXACT same way. This can be interpreted multiple ways. You want your food preferences to be respected so you respect her food preferences. I can't even respect everything, so urgh... work, brain, work, dammit! I won't always be able to treat others how they'd like, even if it harms none. Perhaps this is truly a situational thing. So I'll say, "have positive intentions, learn when you can, make informed decisions." This should work for MOST people.
Everyone has a right to live their life as they fit, provided that they do not inhibit others from doing the same. Simply concentrating on your own life and letting others live as they want without interfering makes you a decent human being. In order to be a good person though: Listen to others. Always consider how your actions influence those around you before doing something. Treat everyone with kindness. I try to be kind to everyone I meet, and if I disagree with someone, I just ignore it and try to move past the disagreement. Sometimes you have to confront issues to get an idea of how the other person is thinking, especially when you're having a conflict with someone close to you. But remember: you don't need to attack the person in order to counter their arguments. Admitting defeat is also vital. Forgive. Anger is filth, it taints you. Just let it go. Finally, it's okay so silently judge and condemn people in your mind. Even though I'm kind to everyone, I'm somewhat of a misanthrope. As long as you don't let your preconceptions affect the way you treat people. And if you find yourself having prejudgments, you have to be willing to let them go as soon as you find you were wrong.
I think to be a decent human you should be able to treat ALL people with kindness and respect regardless of their relationship to you. Meaning you would treat a stranger with the same kindness you would treat a friend with. Living with a set of morals and beliefs can also make you a decent person as long as your not using you views to harm others.
