Are You Really Acting From Your Principles?

It’s worth considering what it actually means to be acting from our principles, as opposed to when are we just using the word to conceal other, possibly less highbrow motives.  The principle may look like the high road, but it can actually be a road to nowhere, a road that leads away from the ground and into the clouds.

In this excellent blog posting Rachel Alexander lists a few indicators that the “principle” may be anything but.

• When adhering to your principle demands that you shield yourself from the facts or obfuscate reality, it’s a good indication your “principle” is another name for something else. Possibly willfulness.
• When it is shorthand for “I really want to get my way, no matter the cost.”
• Or code for “my ego and self regard are on the line here.”
• When a non-interested party may observe that your “principled” behavior looks a lot like stubbornness, aggression or revenge.
• Your “principle” requires very little change from you, and significant change from the other person.
• When discussing the subject, you could be mistaken for a dictator of a small to midsized nation.