Personal Code Of Ethics

K. Smith - LDR 4204

Why am I developing a code of ethics? I feel it's important to establish a guideline to gauge my decisions and see if they are what I wished to achieve. Without a guideline, how can I make sure I am on the right path? When I think of a set of ethical guides, respect, honesty, and hard work spring immediately into mind. These values are what shaped where I am in life and I continue to implement them further into my life.

So then, why did I chose the values that I did? From day one, my parents, as well as teachers, taught that in order to be respected, you must respect others. Respect is often the most important link (along with trust) between individuals and, once broken, is the hardest to repair. Being respectful goes a very far distance in the minds of others. Many people will remember those who treated them fairly and hold them close to the heart, but will also remember those who were not and never wish to deal with them. Respect can then be further reinforced by honesty. Being honest with people, even when the truth upsets them, is needed because at the end of the day, you have given the truthful information to them and can fall back on that without formulating lies to cover up the truth. Put simply, it's easier to be honest and take the upset from others instead of lying, giving people false security, and then worrying if they'll ever figure out the truth and be even more upset with you. The ethical value that is the trickiest sometimes for me, but the most rewarding when looking back on all of the achievements in life is hard work. Since I started kindergarten back in 2000, my academic life has been focused on going above and beyond just average. What has come from that? Multiple honor roll placements, scholarships, and acceptance into the University of South Florida, that's what. But working hard in just academics is not enough. In addition to being a full-time student, I also work part-time (25 hours per week on average). Trying to balance having to go to school while also having to go to work is never easy and stressful to the point of wanting to quit sometimes, however, realizing how far I have come from previous years and how much I have to lose if I give in makes me strive to continue and want more. Sometimes, I reflect on all of the achievements over the years with my mom and dad and seeing the happiness in their expressions and the happy tone of their voices emphasizes the importance of all my hard work.

"I will continue to and maintain respect with others."

Via static1.squarespace.com

Just because you have respect with someone does not mean you can go ahead and not respect them. Accidents may happen, but not maintaining the respect can be catastrophic. They may not with to talk with you, or worse, begin to never respect you ever again.

"I will learn to understand the other person's disappointment better when being honest."

Via hey.fr

In the past, I held off on telling the truth because I was afraid of how the other person will react. As time went on, I became more comfortable with just being honest in the first place, however, I sometimes would not empathize with the other person; see how my actions truly affected them. In the future, if being honest about my actions yields disappointment, I will try to dissect their response and learn from it.

"I will continue to work even harder."

Via cobrinhabjj.com

Hard work does not just stop with what you have achieved now. I believe there is potential in everything you do to work even harder, whether it is academics, hobbies, athletics, etc. Striving for that extra mile can reveal talents that you may not even realized you had.

"I will continue to reflect on my ethics."

Via intervenors.ca

It's never a bad thing to stop for a bit and think about why it is you hold certain ethical values extremely close to heart. Initiating this thought process forces you to think if you truly have met your goals of being ethical and where there may be room for improvement.

"I will set a good example."

Via onlinemphdegree.net

It's one thing to want people to be ethical, but what good is that when you yourself cannot be a good example for them to compare to? It would be hypocritical to want people to be honest with you when you are a compulsive liar. Another good way to think of this is how would you wish your children to act? After all, you would want children with excellent ethics because that will get traced back to you.

"I will not stop trying to improve myself"

Via blogger.com

No person is perfect. There will always be room to improve and the improvements provide excellent learning opportunities. On the road to improving yourself, you may learn just how capable you never thought you were and if you fail, do not fret, just take the lesson to mind and keep on trying to reach your ideal image of yourself.