Once, when I was a student, I went to dinner with four friends. I drove. Tooling down the freeway at my customary speed (a little too fast), I suddenly realized, "Hey, I've got four people in the car with me. Maybe I better slow down." So I did.

Alfred Harrell. Wooden Chest, photograph, October 1980. Retrieved from the U.S. Library of Congress, February 25, 2018.
Almost immediately, around a tight turn in the road, an accident-in-progress came into view. I slowed sharply, and threaded my way through the wrecks that were occurring all around us. Somehow we got through, and I pulled over to calm down and recover my wits. A multi-car pile-up now blocked all lanes behind us — ours was the last vehicle to get through it unscathed.
My inner wisdom was talking to me that night, saying "Slow down!" And yours talks to you, more often than you know.
Have you ever made a decision and then immediately afterwards, have you instantly known that it was a mistake? Or have you ever made a decision with inadequate information, and at the same time, have you been absolutely certain that you were doing the right thing?
Have you ever had
a strong feeling that
you might have just made
a mistake? Your Wisdom
Box was talking to youIf these things have happened to you, then you know how to contact your inner wisdom. Your "Wisdom Box," as Virginia Satir used to call it, is a source of knowledge about how the world works. We all have Wisdom Boxes. What's in your Wisdom Box is uniquely yours, and it's part of what makes you uniquely you.
Here are some typical Wisdom Box interactions:
- When you think, "I knew I shouldn't have done that," you could be remembering what your Wisdom Box told you earlier.
- When you think, "I know I shouldn't do this, but…" you could be in the midst of rejecting what your Wisdom Box is telling you.
- When you have the feeling, "I know that the right thing to do is <something>, but I'm scared (or worried, or unsure)," then you could be hearing from your Wisdom Box. You already know what you need to do — all you need is the Courage to do it.
- When you think, "I have to" or "I have no choice," you've lost touch with your Wisdom Box. There are always choices.
Get in touch with your Wisdom Box. Open it up now and then — oil the hinges of its lid, so it opens easily and smoothly. Find out what's in there already, and add things from time to time. Consult it when you're making decisions, and when it tells you to slow down, slow down. Top
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Related articles
More articles on Ethics at Work:
Nonworkplace Politics
- When we bring national or local political issues into the workplace — especially the divisive
issues — we risk disrupting our relationships, our projects, and the company itself.
When You Aren't Supposed to Say: II
- Most of us have information that's "company confidential," or possibly even more sensitive
than that. Sometimes people who try to extract that information use techniques based on misdirection.
Here are some of them.
Red Flags: III
- Early signs of troubles in collaborations include toxic conflict, elevated turnover, and antipatterns
in communication. But among the very earliest red flags are abuses of power. They're more significant
than other red flags because abuses of power can convert any collaboration into a morass of destructive
politics.
Online Ethics
- The array of media for exchanging our thoughts in text has created new opportunities for acting unethically.
Cyberbullying is one well-known example. But sending text is just one way to cross the line ethically.
Here are some examples of alternatives.
Personal Boundaries at Work
- We often speak of setting boundaries at work — limitations on what we can reasonably ask of each
other. We speak of them, but we don't always honor them. They can be easier to remember and honor if
we regard them as freedoms rather than boundaries.
See also Ethics at Work for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming September 17: Workplace Bullying Doesn't Work
- A common belief about perpetrators of workplace bullying is that they have an outsized view of themselves and their power. The truth might be rather different. They could be dealing with an addiction cycle — a sense of weakness after the effects of previous bullying incidents have dissipated. Available here and by RSS on September 17.
And on September 24: Time Is Not a Resource
- In the project management community, it's often said that time is the most precious resource. Although time is indeed precious, to regard it as a resource — like finance, equipment, or people — can be a dangerous mistake. Time is not a resource. Available here and by RSS on September 24.
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