When deciding how to handle a bullying situation, a good question to ask yourself is … “what good will come out of this?”
A good strategy is one that is both effective and does good. Asking the question, what good will come out of my actions, helps ground your decision making in your moral values.
Why? Because the word “good” is a moral word. Asking yourself what the moral thing to do is. Or what an ideal solution is, is the first step to creating a good, ethical and effective solution.
Without some idea of what a good outcome is, you are reacting instead of responding. When you react – the other person is in control. When you respond, you re in control.
When someone hurts us, our instinct is almost always to hurt that person back. But what good will come of that? Probably nothing good. For you or for them.
So take the time to think about what a good outcome would be – for yourself AND for the person who is hurting you. This will ensure that your actions are at least motivated by goodness and not by desire for revenge.
Your chosen actions might not help the person causing your problems, but by trying to at least have something good come out of the situation, you won’t be adding to the misery of the world and that’s good.