Doing the right thing is both hard and the key to integrity. It often seems unprofitable. Indeed, people are pilloried for speaking their minds, as they have been throughout recorded history.

Conversely, those whom you would call “trustworthy” pay attention to consequences, truthfulness, and following through. They listen closely, care about people, move confidently, remaining calm and creative. They have integrity.

We each have an ethic, a unique way of moving through life — how we succeed (or just get by). A good ethic is sustainable, healthy, and contributes to the general well-being. A bad ethic brings everybody down.

Personal ethics arise from each person’s accumulated choices, strategies, and habits. An ethic guides each of us — the routines we use to navigate, interpret, and build on experiences, feelings, and relationships. Each person’s ethic is their exercise of freedom.

Thoughtful, informed decisions usually work out well — little gifts to your future self — like buying the right car.

Being true to an ethic offers relief from inner turmoil and helps nurture family, friendships, and collegiality — others consider us reliable and trustworthy. Likewise, explicitly ethical businesses enjoy in brand loyalty and reliability.

All this is because, over time, choices get subsumed into our environment and our practices. Activities become “normal” and no longer require attention… yes, flossing is an ethic. So is yelling at the dog. (Practical ethics also require a moral framework, which you can read more about here.)

Conflict between your values and your ethics/actions feels crappy, and leads to shame, illness, and danger — “bad karma.” To succeed, your ethics must align with both your milieu’s social norms and your own story.

In such settings, trusting relationships lead to collaborative creativity, high performance, and pride in achievement . They create stimulating and fun environments that channel conflict and churn value.