How do your principles affect others?

Some of these principles were formed due to belief, parental upbringing, environment and personal experience. According to Wikipedia: “a principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or […]

Some of these principles were formed due to belief, parental upbringing, environment and personal experience. According to Wikipedia: “a principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed. The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting the system’s designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any one of the principles was to be ignored.”
Oxford dictionary defines principle as: “a rule or belief governing one’s behavior.” As human beings who are not perfect, we sometimes break these rules either intentionally or unintentionally. As individuals, we have our own diverse and different rules which we use as a guide to our relationship with others and also how we have chosen to live our lives. Lifextra presents to you the views of a cross section of people on what their principles are and how they affect others.
Mrs Lovelyn  Emeka, a trader in Kubwa market, says given what she does for a living, her principle is business oriented. As an individual and as a business woman, she detests buying things on credit and also doesn’t sell on credit because some customers don’t pay and don’t feel uneasy; this has affected her relationship with others as many people mistake this for pride on her part: “I developed this principle because when I buy things on credit I don’t feel at ease till I pay. The reason I don’t sell things on credit is that some of these customers come to your shop and start relaying their problems to you and due to my sympathetic nature I would sell to them on credit and eventually not get paid. So I just made the rule not to listen to their stories to avoid getting emotionally attached and not to sell on credit at all before my business crumbles because of credit.”
As for Mbonu David, a student, enjoys interacting and making people smile but detests it when he is been taken for granted.  He said cheerfully: “Well I’m this kind of person that can be jovial and one who smiles a lot but once I notice that you are a cheat that ends my relationship with you. That is my principle as a person, I don’t like cheating, and people around me see this rule of mine wrongly as they define me as someone who has mood swings, that is I change my attitude as I switch which is put on and off, but that is just me and I have no intention to change.”
Sticking to her words as an individual is one principle that Mbekang Kyaune cannot play with, once she has made up her mind. She also does not like being interrupted whenever she is engaged in something very important and this to a large extent has affected her relationship with people. 
Trust is a paramount ingredient in every relationship with people but for Joseph Ine, a research analyst, his principle boils down to lack of trust for anyone. As a result of this he has no steady relationship with some of his friends who don’t understand him. “I trust no one and don’t expect to be trusted,” he said emphatically. 
Yahaya Mohammed was blunt as he hit the nail on the head: “I don’t like to be disappointed and try not to disappoint others; you know people say that what you don’t want others to do to you, you shouldn’t do to others that is the reason why I try to keep my word.”
Adaobi  Ononamadu , a student, said: “I have a principle that is associated with my upbringing. I don’t go alone to a male friend’s house no matter how close we are. This is because a times you don’t know what is been conceived in the mind of that male for you; know you going to his house alone could stir up unwanted emotions or moves which you might not be able to avoid, thereby leading to rape. When such a situation gets to the public, you the girl takes the blame because you will be asked why you went to the guy’s house.”
Whatever rules or principle you may have, we should always remember that as human beings we are not perfect and people definitely somewhere, will somehow step on your toes to force you to break some of your principles even when you least expect. Thus, your principles should be flexible in order to accommodate others and maintain good relationship with them.