What SHould I Do?: 4 Simple Steps to Making Better Decisions in Everyday Life

What's right? What's wrong? A noted ethicist shows readers how to make the best decisions... in four easy steps.

The new guy in marketing keeps telling racist jokes. I don't want to make waves, but...what should I do?

My mother is terminally ill and wants to end her life. It's breaking my heart...what should I do?

We all want to "do the right thing." But how can we know what the "right thing" is?

This entertaining and straightforward guide to handling tricky and troubling situations at work, in relationships, and in day-to-day life offers a four-step process to help us make the best decisions possible. With the advice, guidance, and real-life examples in this book, we can think things through with a clearer head-and emerge with a clearer conscience-whether we're struggling with everyday conflicts or life's toughest choices.

What would you do if your boss said, "Sleep with me and you'll get a raise"? If a friend asked your opinion about a hideous new dress? Or the age-old quandary: "Should I tell my spouse about my affair?" Carefully and methodically, author Bruce Weinstein lays out all the considerations and courses of action when handling troubling situations such as these. Like a levelheaded grandfather who holds readers' hands and walks them through life's toughest dilemmas, Weinstein helps readers look inward with a clearer lens so that answers come from the person's core rather than in reaction to someone else's opinion.

The chapters are organized according to the different arenas in which problems occur, with headings such as "Making Better Decisions at Work," "Making Better Decisions in Marriage and Long-Term Relationships," and "Making Better Decisions at the End of Life." Within these chapters, Weinstein lays out anecdotal quandaries, then presents the "facts." Take Tim, who doesn't want to tell his wife, Rebecca, about the affair he had for fear of losing her but is also not sure he wants to stay married. Weinstein lists the values that are at stake (Tim hates lying but he also hates hurting his wife), and then he lists the options and evaluates the possible outcomes: tell her, hold the secret, get counseling about marital ambivalence, etc. Readers will breathe a sigh of relief when they find their dilemmas explored in these personal stories and then see the options laid out in an organized and sensible fashion. Amazingly, the answer to "What should I do?" becomes clearer (and it will differ from reader to reader) when all the courses of action are examined in this supportive and nonjudgmental fashion. --Gail Hudson