In reality I was just nitpicking. Doing the win-win strategy I described does require more willpower, and I understand that one employs tricks like these to avoid using willpower.

Incidentally, I somewhat envy people who are capable to pull such strategy off. It requires some amount of suspension of disbelief, forgetting for a moment that you're the game master and playing the game by the book way past the point it's become uncomfortable. I don't have that. I tried many times, but my mind just refuses to participate in self-trickery.