Often when people first learn of my “other life” as a writer, they ask me if I write under my own name.  I always crinkle up my nose and say, “Well, yeah!” like it’s a dumb question.  But it’s not.  Plenty of people use pseudonyms.

The idea has just never appealed to me.  I figure that if I wouldn’t want to be associated with something I wrote, then that’s a clue I shouldn’t seek to publish it.

I use the same approach with life in general.  I figure that if I would be ashamed for people to know I was doing something, then I probably shouldn’t be doing it.  It’s a deterrent of sorts, something to keep the worse parts of my nature in check.

It even works when I am absolutely sure no one will know.  Because 1) I will always know, and 2) God will always know.  I don’t want God to catch me doing something I know is wrong.  (He catches me at unintentional failures enough already.)   And there is no way to hide from God.  So, whenever I am tempted to do something I shouldn’t, I remember that God is watching.  That usually keeps me on the right side of the line.  I just wish it worked as well for the minor infractions like eating that hot fudge sundae I know I shouldn’t have.

In recent years, I’ve also realized that the “I will always know” part of the equation is just as important.  It hit me when I read this quote from What Happy People Know by Dan Baker and Cameron Stauth.

“When people fail to live up to their values, the first thing they feel is disappointment in themselves, which creates a lot of stress.”