It has always been true that reputations can be made and destroyed more quickly than one might think possible.
During election years it becomes even more obvious: you cannot control your reputation. You can do the very best you can to do the right thing at the right place and time, but all it takes is one person or event to shatter a lifetime’s worth of work in one fell swoop.
And the onset of 24-hour news cycles hasn’t helped the truth to come out any sooner than it used to: if anything, the 1500 TV talking heads help cement misunderstandings, false information, and reputation-destroying rumors far more quickly than ever before, and with much broader dissemination.
And so it was that when a friend recently posted the graphic below, I was immediately struck by the truth of it.
You won’t always be able to do much about your reputation, but you certainly can choose to always be responsible for your character.
And in the end, that’s what matters:
