Moral licensing! Are you a victim of it?

Ralphy1

Ralphy1

Well-known Member
Perhaps you haven't even heard of it but are still a victim of it. Simply put it means that if you been good at something you can be bad at something else, such as if you exercise regularly you can indulge yourself in something else, an extra slice or two of pizza, for example...
 

I've been good for eighty two years, Ralphy. ( Bursting into song ); "Until my numbers up, I'm gonna' fill my cup. I'm gonna' live, live, live, until I die!" :banana:
 
After years of beating myself up for my moral failings - not caring enough, not generous enough etc - I have finally learned to forgive myself for my shortcomings as much as I forgive others for theirs. I am much happier as a result.

If I want a high calorie snack I have it with a clear conscience and don't worry about trading it off with exercise or starving myself later. I'm not into moral licensing and I probably never have been all that much.

I think I'm part Hobbitt.
 
Developmental studies show that we come to accepting ourselves and our shortcomings from around fifty onwards. As a devout and determined hedonist in my seventies I never consider any of the trade offs but know people who still do...
 
ok... I'll play.. Yes.. If I am going to indulge in something that I know may not be the best for me.. I try to offset it with something else. Most times.. I really don't see what is wrong with that.. It's called hoping to live a little longer, and to be healthy while I'm at it.

Other kinds of moral licensing seem silly to me. If I do something I am not particularly proud of in one area, I don't try to make it up in another... Like if I yell at a storeclerk, I don't tip my waitress double later on at dinner. That's silly.. Who is keeping score anyway?
 
Now you have the idea, but an extra large tip for good service would make the recipient feel good and maybe you, too...:cool:
 
Dame Warrigal said:
After years of beating myself up for my moral failings - not caring enough, not generous enough etc - I have finally learned to forgive myself for my shortcomings as much as I forgive others for theirs. I am much happier as a result.

If I want a high calorie snack I have it with a clear conscience and don't worry about trading it off with exercise or starving myself later. I'm not into moral licensing and I probably never have been all that much.

I think I'm part Hobbitt.
Click to expand...

Go for it, DW! :chocolate:
 
Yes, but if you keep generously tipping you are building up your moral license to yell at a clerk again...:D
 
QuickSilver said:
ok... I'll play.. Yes.. If I am going to indulge in something that I know may not be the best for me.. I try to offset it with something else. Most times.. I really don't see what is wrong with that.. It's called hoping to live a little longer, and to be healthy while I'm at it.

Other kinds of moral licensing seem silly to me. If I do something I am not particularly proud of in one area, I don't try to make it up in another... Like if I yell at a storeclerk, I don't tip my waitress double later on at dinner. That's silly.. Who is keeping score anyway?
Click to expand...

:dunno: God?
 
Yep, but moral licensing, as psychologists have dubbed it, is real for some...
 
About 79 years I have lived pretty much as I please. It's too late to "clean up my act" now. Oh I did give up smoking but not until it had done it's job. Smoke free for 28 years now. But I eat what I want, drink what I want and try not to look at the calendar.
 
I have been guilty of this moral licensing thing Ralphy, now and then, but the older I get the less I do it! thankfully I am slim anyway and don't eat a great amount, so If I fancy a slice of cake, then I eat it, without worrying about offsetting it with a swim or brisk walk or anything.Ditto a small ( or large ) Scotch.:beerandwhistle:
 
I gave up smoking some years ago. So far so good. As for the rest, my mother broke all the rules, lived to be ninety three, my aunt a year older. I want quality, not quantity. Happiness for me is not found on a spinach leaf with two carrot sticks. I drink sparingly, don't overeat, and from time to time, celebrate 4:20. Lol. I also highly recommend huge doses of laughter and hugs, with a dollop of sex here and there.
 
Well, maybe I have missed something as pot wasn't a universal choice for my generation. Might have to try before I die...:cool:
 
Ralphy, I have an English friend in his seventies who lives on a farm nearby. He swears by pot as an effective remedy for the pain in his severely arthritic elbow, as well as acid reflux.
 

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