Patience vs Inertia pt 2 a.k.a. skillful action, rules

Continuing the discussion from the first installment & comments:
http://polyfusia.blogspot.com/2007/07/patience-vs-inertia.html

On the idea of having rules to guide skillful action, JC writes:

i like the idea of having rules like that, but the problem with an external system is that my state of denial will affect how i apply it. it still comes back to a sincere effort to make the best decisions i can, based on the self-awareness i have today.

Yes, very true-- in all practicality, you can't separate the rule (or more specifically the interpretation and application of the rule) from the rule-follower. However, I think there are varying degrees of objectivity you can instill into a rule.

An example of a pretty objective rule I try to follow these days is, "no more than one alcoholic drink per evening (two if it's Thursday night) when I'm working the next day." No getting around that one. Superficial, yes, but I mention it just for an example of simple objectivity.

I'm trying out another rule that's more relevant to the current discussion (distinguishing patience & inertia, etc), though it's more like a general guide than a rule, and it's two-fold:

(1) choose the option that makes your heart grow bigger rather than contract
(2) choose that which opens your eyes further to the truth rather than shuts them in delusion

Yes, there's a lot of room for interpretation there, but the rule definitely helps. I can see sometimes what is the right action even though I really want to choose the other option. Oh, and that yields the third part of the rule:

(3) whichever the more challenging option is, it is probably the better one

Ok, back to work for me....