About this quote

Doing the expected thing and doing the right thing are not the same, and convention often stands in for conscience. Real ethics asks you to work out what is true for yourself and then act on it even when the crowd walks the other way. Courage is the part most people skip.

When to use it

• An accountant refusing to sign off on figures the rest of the office waves through.
• A student picking an unpopular thesis they believe in over the safe crowd-pleaser.
• Naming a bad decision in a meeting after the room has already agreed to it.