Passion is not a reliable indicator of long-term results. But it can keep you in the game.

When was the last time you examined your principles of living?

Principles are our operating guidelines, rules by which we choose to live. The extent to which we consciously choose and practice positive principles directly affects the course our lives take.

In fact, principles are impossible to live without. It’s just that too many people adopt principles unconsciously. If you want to be a force for positive change in the world, the quality of your principles are vital to your success.

The application of ungrounded principles, on the other hand, leads to disaster.

Consider the economic downturn of 2007 to 2009. It seems clear that the downturn came about in part as a result of ungrounded operating principles. It wasn’t capitalism or a free market economy that brought about the collapse. Nor was it lack of regulation.

It was the lack of grounded principles being practiced by those who had influence on how money was to be invested.

Closer to home, consider what happens when we choose to indulge in activities that harm others. When we lie, cheat, or make promises we have no intention of honoring; when we refuse to consider the impact choices may have on unseen others; when we break trust to satisfy our own urges or because we are afraid; when our only goal in life is to get what we want, no matter the consequences.

So the question is simple: What operating principles do you practice each day? How often do you consciously weigh your choices against those principles? How often do you abandon them?

While none of us is perfect, we each have the responsibility to live well in accordance with conscious principles.

Want a better quality of life? Choose high-quality operating principles. Take a little time today and consider the way you want to live, and the kind of life you want. Then identify the principles that, when consistently and mindfully practiced, bring about those results.

It surely beats living with blinders on.