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How do I know if I did the right thing?

280 Answers
Last Updated: 05/25/2022 at 8:57pm
How do I know if I did the right thing?
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Lauren Abasheva, LMHC

Licensed Professional Counselor

A sex positive, and kink knowledgeable therapist with an open mindset and a clear understanding that we are all different.

Top Rated Answers
JourneyWithFriends
July 7th, 2016 2:44pm
It is sometimes hard to do the right thing....and second guessing ourselves is human nature. However, if you truly act with your best interest at heart keeping in mind the best interest of others as best you know how second...then I believe it is a pretty sure bet that you did the right thing. If in hindsight you find that it wasn't the best possible choice, then so be it. Clean up what you can of any damage that may have been done and then FORGIVE YOURSELF, because everyone makes mistakes. Lastly, no matter what...if you did the absolute best you could with your given situation....let it go, sleep well and know that you learned something important that will help you do better tomorrow.
ladycat946
July 8th, 2016 1:08pm
I think time will tell you if you did the right thing, but in the end, if you are asking this question to yourself, i think you did the right thing in the simple fact that you are worried about your decisions and the impact of them on people. I think you are trying everything you can to do the best thing, so this is a good thing ;)
OlgaParis
July 8th, 2016 1:50pm
If you felt like it was a right thing to do at that moment, then probably it was the best choice.
CheeseandCrackers
July 1st, 2016 3:11am
You won't always know. Whatever happens happens, and once something has been done, you usually can't change it. So whatever you decide to do, stick with it and make the most of it.
ValRuberto
July 27th, 2016 7:41pm
This is a tricky question to ask yourself. If you felt like in the moment it was the right thing to do, usually it is. If you put a lot of thought into your decision then you must have had good reasons for doing the thing you did. When we look back on our choices it's easy to think good things were worse than they actually were and bad things were better than they actually were. Something could have been making you upset at the time you had it, but now that you're without it you may feel nostalgic and not remember how much it was hurting you. You'll never know for sure if you did the right thing or not, but what you can do is trust yourself. Trust that you made the right choice for you.
youlive
July 7th, 2016 9:49pm
If you feel right about it, you know that you did the right thing. If not, you should look into and search for the problem. Believe in you
CaringGuy79
October 16th, 2016 9:46am
Sometimes doing the right thing feels wrong but there are moments in the future where you'll know you did the right thing.
BigDogTherapy
September 8th, 2016 3:13pm
What is interesting about this question is that people often evaluate the right thing exclusively on the basis of the results or the outcome. That has something to do with it ("did things turn out ok?") but not everything. A big factor of knowing if you did the right thing is whether in your heart, your gut, you are ok with the actions you took. It is possible to get to a good result through lies, deceit and cheating - does the end justify the means? Many people would be uncomfortable with that (including me). Evaluate if you did the right thing in part with your sense of the results, but listen to and trust your own instincts. Do you feel good, right, comforted, by your own actions? That tells you the answer.
Ezraforhelp
September 3rd, 2016 4:12am
You don't. That's the beauty of it.. You just have to go about in life doing what feels right to your heart. If you do what your tells you, then trust it to be right. Never doubt your decisions, your gut feeling. And anyway.. there's no such thing as a right or wrong thing. They are all choices. You just gotta make them at some point and NOT worry whether they are right or wrong or good or bad.
YourPalAmy
July 10th, 2016 2:49pm
Sometimes the right choice isn't the easy one. A lot of the time you just have to consider pros and cons, and trust your gut. If you think you made the right decision, you probably did.
s3venteen
October 23rd, 2016 8:18pm
You will know that the outcome will help encourage a healthy environment and bring happiness to everyone the decision involved. You might not feel good or things may seem bad right now because it was a tough choice or it immediately negatively affected someone but you will know that when you and they get through it, everyone will be much better for having been a part of that.
julialovesyouu
July 7th, 2016 2:29am
When something agrees with your morals, puts you in a positive direction towards your major goals and makes you happy, you have done the right thing.
Anonymous
July 7th, 2016 6:35pm
It depends on how you feel about it. If you're really feeling conflicted, I think making a pros and cons chart can really help make your thoughts clearer and help you understand your thoughts on it.
Anonymous
July 2nd, 2016 5:40am
Does it feel right in your heart? Personally, doing the right thing gives me a warm feeling in my belly!
Alexisgkr
July 5th, 2016 1:03pm
I believe the ultimate personal goal is trying to hear your instinct. If your instinct tells you that the particular thing is right, then it probably is! Try and hear what your heart says sometimes!
Peregrine
July 13th, 2016 3:10am
You know you did the right thing when you are happy and healthy, or the action you picked was the one that most greatly benefited the welfare of yourself and those around you.
Anonymous
July 1st, 2016 12:52pm
Trust yourself. You decide if what you did was right or wrong. If you think you are right stick to it regardless of what others say on the matter. And if you feel you are wrong, accept it.
Danielle806
July 3rd, 2016 10:34am
If you feel bad mentally about it then it might not be the right thing to do in my opinion if it didn't hurt to do it it could have been the right thing to do but if you did it to hurt someone it was wrong
Anonymous
June 29th, 2016 6:09am
It depends on what it is! If you feel right about it, it's most likely the right thing! If not, you may want to look into it and see what the problem may be
Starsoul
July 13th, 2017 3:49pm
You feel it in your heart. You ignore your mind for a moment, you close your eyes and you try to feel what's in your heart. If you feel content, then it was the right thing. Always follow your heart and instinct for your decisions. You mind can only help you to a certain point, then it will confuse you.
Anonymous
September 9th, 2016 8:14am
what is your heart telling you ? what do you feel deep down in your chest ? There's no such thing as an absolute "right thing", there's what's right for you.
YuukiKuran1996
July 21st, 2016 12:41pm
If you respected and thought about others , considering their feeling , and still you were able to be brave enough to follow your heart and act for the right reasosn , then You did the right thing :)
Anonymous
September 7th, 2016 5:43am
You know if you did the right thing if you know that it will all turn out better in the end, no matter how hard it is now.
shaquilleoatmeal
July 19th, 2017 9:44pm
When there is a positive outcome in the end. Knowing whether or not you did the right thing can be a challenge at first, but overtime you realize that there were more negative consequences in not doing something than the positive. Doing the right thing not only helps others but it helps yourself.
Implode
August 9th, 2017 2:05am
If you feel good about it. :) Even if it has a negative outcome, you will learn from your mistakes and that's how people become better people. And if it was an inevitable situation, you just have to suck up the air and go with what your heart tells you.
ComfortingForest
August 3rd, 2016 12:16am
You'll know you did the right thing because deep down you won't regret it. It might not have the right or good outcomes but despite that you won't regret it or wish you did something else.
Anonymous
September 3rd, 2016 2:34pm
You won't until something happens to signal whether things worked out or not. But that's ok because not knowing things is a natural part of our lives and it's going to be ok
IntuitiveDrops
August 31st, 2016 9:45am
You usually have a good feeling about it, If not, you will need to wait until you see the results. Sometimes, we aren´t entirely sure about things but we still needed to do them at the time. Don´t ever just wait because you are not 100% sure about something. Even if you didn´t do the right thing, it will probably be a mistake you can learn from.
Anonymous
July 28th, 2016 6:30am
You never know, you only can do what you feel is the best thing. Some times the worst choices are the best.
Millichidulinas
July 13th, 2016 9:07am
You dont' know if you did it or not 'cause not in every situation there is a real good/right thing.