All times are not built the same. The decision you once made with conviction is losing its appeal, your strength to persevere is becoming unequal to your wants and that cookie you swore off is looking, “Doughlicious!” Amidst the ever-changing challenges of life, we can forget what truly matters to us. Following principles can allow you to weather the storm of short-term gain. It is like having a compass during foggy weather. It guides you in the right direction, even when the path in front of you seems unclear.
Be more of who you want to be.
Most people have some sort of principles in their lives. If they are good principles for you they align with your values and who you want to be. (There is a chance that your principles are bad, and don’t align with your values but that is for another essay). If you don't follow these principles, you will be like a wind vane, flowing every which way the winds take you. Betraying principles also means betraying the life you want to live. Principles only compound consistently. You only become more of what you want to be if you remain true to the commitments that you made to yourself.
Reason is the death of being reasonable.
When you have trouble sticking to your principles reasoning through it seems to be the default. You might say. What’s going to happen if I eat that cookie? In a time of desperation, reason can be biased toward short-term information. The stress of losing money in a bad market or the temptation for the cookie at that time has a higher weight in your decision than a dream of being financially independent or losing weight. In times of desperation, you can convince yourself of anything. I have been able to find out the most elaborate loopholes in the commitments I have made to myself. When it comes to principles, reason can be the death of being reasonable.
Being flexible
I am not saying there is no room for being flexible. Certain circumstances require a flexible approach. I am just saying to be very careful when you betray your principles. You are not just breaking the principle for the day but you are setting a precedent for the future, where it will be more okay to break that principle. That is why aiming for a binary approach—where you either do something or not—can be more effective. I have seen people break the speed limit more than cross a red line. I have found it to be easier to stick to a binary decision consistently. You either are a guy that eats a cookie or you don't, if a principle means a lot to you be very careful occupying the middle ground.
Principles are not about a fixed state but about the pursuit
Becoming the person who always sticks to their commitments doesn't happen overnight. Failure is part of the process. Following a principle is not about an ideal state but a pursuit. A useful principle becomes more evident when it is broken, returning stronger and more ingrained. The journey of America and its constitution teaches us something about this pursuit. America was founded on lofty ideals. A nation made of men, not gods, will always fall short of these ideals, but it was the pursuit of these ideals that mattered. I think this kind of mindset allowed America to move with its weight of the past to redefine itself. From the civil war, the rights of women, and the civil rights movement. During these times short-term reasoning would have demanded something else. The economic benefits of slavery and not going to war might seem reasonable but it was an ideal, "all men are created equal" is how America found itself, to be more of what it was meant to be. You will say America is not perfect. With its history, with its discrimination. I will say “Yes” that is the point. It never was and neither are we so it is okay to aspire to a higher state it is the pursuit despite being fallen that matters.
“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”
—Ebaad (a humble fallibilist)