The essence of good and evil is a certain disposition of the will.

What makes an act good or bad is not its size or its outcome, but what you were willing when you did it. The same gift can be generosity or a purchase of influence, the same silence restraint or cowardice. You cannot settle the question by pointing at the result. You have to look at what you actually wanted, which is the one piece of evidence only you can see.

Take an action from this week you were quietly pleased with, and ask what you hoped would follow. If the answer is not one you would give aloud, that is worth knowing and need not be worth punishing.