To borrow from R.J. Palacio’s book, “Wonder”:
A Precept is a “rule about really important things.”
“In a nutshell, precepts are words to live by. You can find a precept in a book you’re reading, in a song you’ve heard, or in a fortune cookie. It doesn’t matter where, but if a phrase rings true to you, and it can help guide you in making a decision, then make it your own personal precept.”
My Favorite:
“If you have the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Ask yourself these questions:
· Do you like the precept?
· Would it apply to how you live your life?
· What would the world be like if everyone followed this precept?
· Would it end wars? World Hunger?
· How hard it would be for you to choose to back down from an argument with your mom or dad or brothers or sisters, if you knew you were right and the other person was wrong?
· Would you give in just to let the other person save face?
It’s not so simple a thing to choose to be kind. It’s one thing to back down from an argument with someone you love, or a friend, because you don’t see the point in “winning” the argument at the cost of your friend’s feelings.
But what if you believe in something that no one else believes in? What if you’re the only one who knows you’re right? Should you back down, just to be kind?
What if you were Galileo, and you knew you were right about the planets revolving around the sun even though the rest of the world thought you were crazy—would you back down?
What if you were living in the 1950s and you were the only one in your town to believe that black people should have the same rights as white people—would you back down, just to be polite?
What if you were standing up for something you believed in—would you really want to back down, just for the sake of kindness?
Maybe the most important word in the precept isn’t the word “kind” or the word “right.” Maybe the most important word in that whole sentence is the word “choose.”
As with all things in life, every choice you make needs to be weighed. Every decision needs to be evaluated. All that precept is telling you, is that it’s better to choose to be kind than to choose to be right. But the real point is that you have the choice.
So this is meant to be a fun kind of thought provoker, and to motivate you to find your own precept. It may help you with your tagline as well -- and that contest floating around here if you find one with "brownnoser" in it. 
[This message edited by BrokenRoad at 9:05 PM, June 15th (Saturday)]
