Your good is not universal

What you believe is good is not universally accepted as good. What I strive to do in my life is something I accept as good, but I have to admit that my definition of good is not universally shared.

Here’s a practical example: I desire to be a good leader in the workplace, and one attribute of good leadership, in my view, is the willingness to admit mistakes and acknowledge when you are wrong. To me, that demonstrates strong leadership. However, this approach is not universally accepted as a hallmark of good leadership—and that’s okay.

In my younger years, this would have affected me. I would have either tried to hide this trait or gone in the opposite direction, adopting the principles that others use. But the truth is, we all have agency. We may not always find common ground on certain issues, but what matters is having confidence that your approach does good and, hopefully, does no harm.

What personal belief or principle have you held onto, even when others around you did not share it?