Daily Inspiration Quote by Paul Theroux

Principle, Theroux reminds us, is not a personality trait you get to wear like a vintage jacket; it is an invoice that arrives in real time. “Expensive” is doing double duty here: the obvious cost (jobs lost, deals declined, invitations rescinded) and the subtler one, the steady drain of choosing the harder option when the easier option comes with perks and applause. The word “usually” matters too. It’s a novelist’s hedge, the kind that keeps the line from turning into sermon. Sometimes integrity pays off. Often it doesn’t. The point is that counting on a reward is the quickest way to compromise.

“Lonely” sharpens the knife. Theroux isn’t describing principled people as heroic martyrs, surrounded by moral grandeur. He’s describing the social physics of dissent: the group protects itself, not the standard. In most institutions - literary, political, corporate, even familial - belonging is the primary currency, and principle is what you spend when you refuse the quiet bargains that keep relationships frictionless. The subtext is that being “good” is less about inner purity than about enduring the awkwardness of being the person who won’t go along.

Contextually, Theroux’s career sits close to travel writing and cultural critique, modes built on looking at communities from the outside. That perspective breeds a specific realism about how moral choices play out on the ground: righteousness isn’t abstract; it’s logistical. You pay. You eat alone. And if you’re lucky, you still believe it was worth it.