my moral leadership compass
...fferent generations. I was born in Russia, where I spent 18 years of my life, and then I moved to America. Russia and USA have absolutely different values. When I came to America I felt the need to adjust my moral standpoint, but there were principles I couldn’t give up. For instance, it is common for American people to report on somebody if they feel that person has done something wrong. In Russian culture this type of behavior is unacceptable. I would never report on anybody no matter what they do. Another thing that is confusing for me is the influence of people from different generations. My parents and grandparents are very conservative. They do not accept premarital relationships and divorces, but modern society (whether Russian or American) accepts them. I share the opinion of the modern society, but I have some doubts. I think that my moral standpoint is still in the developing stage. It is a continuing process that will stop when I gain enough experience to be able to define my values and beliefs. My Moral Fitness As you can see on this picture, my moral fitness is associated with physical fitness. It does not mean that all athletes make ethical decisions. It means that physical exercises help to relax and to achieve peace of body and mind. That’s why I take yoga classes where I learn how to become aware of your body, mind, and spirit. One of the most important elements of my moral fitness is organization. I have a very busy schedule, and I have to make sure that I do everything on time. I try my best not to be late because I recognize my responsibilities, and how precious other people’s time is. In order to keep up, I maintain a schedule, and I plan each activity according to its priority. I follow this rule at work, at home, and everywhere I go, and it works very well. Another important part of my moral fitness is people who surround me. I try to stay away from certain groups of people like: drug users and dealers, smokers, alcoholics, criminals, homeless, and unemployed people who don’t want to work, study, or do anything. I know that these people can have a negative impact on my life, and I am not sure that I will be able to resist, so I decided not to communicate with them. I try to make friends with hard-working, honest, intelligent, and kind people, so that I can benefit from this relationship, and I hope they feel the same way about me. My moral fitness is based on the values of western culture, part of which is democracy. I believe in the equality, freedom of speech, rights and laws, and other attributes of democracy. I try to live my life according to these values: I do not break any laws, and I respect other people’s rights. Defining Moment This symbol represents my defining moment. This is the key to my life, my past, my present, and my future. This key is my experience that helped me to define my moral compass, and, if this is the right key, it will open all the doors to the future. My defining moment was the time when I moved to America. I was born in Russia, where I spent 18 years of my life. I had relatives in America, and suddenly my parents decided to move to this country, to a completely different world across the ocean. It was very hard to adjust to a different culture. I could speak little English, but it was hard for me to understand the American accent. I went to college right away, but I was not familiar with the American system of education. I had to spend more time on my studies than other students, but several months later I started to understand the material better, and my results improved. I also had a cultural shock when I came to America. American people are very different from Russians, and they expect everyone to be just like them. Besides, they kept asking me strange questions about my culture, like “Do you have printers in your country,” and I was embarrassed. I finally decided that I will become an American, and I will try to follow American rules, celeb...