The Right Reason

If you do something so that others will like you better, or to get praise, or keep a spouse or job, you will not do the right thing for long.  Why?  Because your reason for doing it depended on things you cannot control such as will the world like, approve and reward you.  If you do the right thing because you know it is the right thing, for yourself, regardless of how world responds then you will probably continue to do the right thing.  Example: Drinking and Drugging.  If you do it for the world’s response then you may be disappointed.  You may still lose a lot of outside things and get no big approval.  So you will just say, in your self-pity and resentment, “The heck with them” and go back to bad behavior.  But if you do it for yourself, and not for others or outside reasons, then you will probably keep doing the right thing.  The big ego wants approval.  The humble person wants to do the right thing and get all the help they need to do it.