The Best Possible Reason, Inspired by Stephen Covey

 Inspired by a quote from Stephen Covey, Candice and Clare explore what motivates our choices. Is doing the right thing enough, even if our reasons are not perfect yet? Through a personal story, Candice talks about how growth often starts with simply taking a step in the right direction. Sometimes the reason isn’t perfect at first, but over time our hearts can catch up with our actions. 

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Transcript

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Transcript

Clare: Welcome to Sisters Latter-Day Voices. I'm Clare.

Candice: And I'm Candice. For today’s mini episode, we’re going to talk about decisions and why we make them, and the motivation behind those decisions. I wanted to talk about this because both of our parents have been quoting something lately. I don’t know why they’ve both been quoting it, but it’s a really great quote. Our dad in college had a class where Stephen Covey was the professor.

Clare: Oh, that’s cool. How did I not know that?

Candice: I know. I actually didn’t know that either until he told me this quote. I was like, why haven’t I heard about this before? But Stephen Covey was talking about when he was a mission president in Ireland. When he started the mission, his motto was, “We are going to do the right thing for the right reason.” At the end of his mission, the motto changed to, “We are going to do the right thing for the best possible reason.” I like that. He was motivating young men, and maybe sometimes we just have to think of the best possible reason instead of the perfect reason. I mean, sometimes we just have to think of a good reason to do something instead of the very best reason. Of course we want to do things for the best reasons, but sometimes you just have to go with what will get you to do it. Maybe the first step in the right direction is good, not great, but it gets you moving.

Clare: Yeah.

Candice: I remember being a teenager, and we had to do a service project doing yard work. I think it was for an elderly couple, and it was really cold. And you know me, two things I’m really not fond of are yard work and cold weather.

Clare: That is true. It’s a double-edged sword.

Candice: I used to trade chores. I’d say, you do my weeding and I’ll do the dishes or the laundry. I would do anything if I didn’t have to pull weeds or do gardening. And I remember being kind of a brat to Mom. I didn’t want to go. I thought, why do I have to go? Other people are going. They can do it. But I went and did the service project. I wasn’t happy about it on the inside.

Clare: Were you also not happy on the outside?

Candice: I can’t remember. I probably wasn’t. It was so long ago. I honestly can’t say what my motivation was to go. It was probably just not getting in trouble with Mom. But I went. It may have taken me several years, maybe even decades, to really appreciate service, especially if it’s outside and cold. But I feel like I’m much better at doing those kinds of things now than I was then. Even if my motivation wasn’t great, at least it got me to do something good. And the more you do those kinds of things, the more you appreciate them and grow.

Clare: I think that’s a perfect example. Maybe it wasn’t for the best reason, but you did it. Eventually, if we keep doing those things, we’ll see the value in them and hopefully grow. And as parents, I feel like we do that all the time with our kids.

Candice: Yes, agreed. I have one other small story. When I was in college, I was flying on an airplane. It wasn’t to or from Utah, so it wasn’t obvious that there would be a lot of members of our church on the plane. I sat next to an older gentleman, and he noticed I was a member of the church. It’s funny how sometimes you can just tell with certain people. It’s not like I was wearing garments. I hadn’t been endowed yet. But we started talking. He had been a seminary teacher for a long time. He told me about a former student who ran into him after she graduated and said that when she was making decisions, she would think, “I don’t want to disappoint Brother so-and-so.” He looked a little disappointed telling me this story. He said that while it was good, he hoped she would want to make good choices because she didn’t want to disappoint God, not just him.

Clare: Yeah.

Candice: I remember thinking at the time, well, it’s still good that she’s making good choices. I remember when I was younger thinking, I want to make a good choice because what if Grandma or Grandpa are watching me? I didn’t want to disappoint them. Maybe I should have been thinking about not disappointing God, but if it gets you to do the right thing, that’s still a step in the right direction.

Clare: That’s a great way to look at it.

Candice: Anyway, that’s just my brief thought for the day. We can adopt that motto too, doing the right thing for the best possible reason, even if it’s not the best reason yet. We hope you’re doing well, and we hope you know God loves you. Bye.