The right call and the popular call don’t always match. Know which one you’re making.

Doing the right thing and doing the popular thing usually overlap, which is why the rare gap matters so much. The real danger is not picking the comfortable option. It is picking it while telling yourself it was the right one, because then there is nothing left to notice or correct. Knowing which call you made keeps you honest even when you take the easy one.

When a decision feels obvious and pleasant, ask what the other option was and why it lost. Say the actual reason to yourself, even if it is that you did not fancy the trouble. That sentence is what makes a different choice possible later.