Choice becomes character when the same principle survives different circumstances.

Anyone can hold a principle when it is cheap. What turns a value into character is watching it survive a situation where it costs you something: money, standing, an easier evening, the approval of someone you like. Consistency across circumstances is the whole test, and most of us discover our real values only when the price rises.

Think of a principle you hold and imagine the situation that would make it expensive. You probably do not have to imagine hard. When that situation comes this month, notice the moment you start looking for an exception, and treat that moment as the actual decision point.