Be Careful with the Thought "Just This Once"

These words from the book How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen can save people from going to jail:

"Many of us have convinced ourselves that we are able to break our own personal rules "just this once." In our minds, we can justify these small choices. None of those things, when they first happen, feels like a life-changing decision....But each of those decisions can roll up into a much bigger picture, turning you inot the kind of person you never wanted to be."

--"100 Percent of the Time Is Easier Than 98 Percent of the Time," p. 189

"If you give in to "just this once,"...you'll regret where you end up. That's the lesson I learned: it's easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time. The boundary--your personal moral line--is powerful, because you don't cross it; if you have justified doing it once, there's nothing to stop you doing it again."  (p. 191)