We all have two wolves inside us a Cherokee lesson suggests. One tugs at us to do evil and the other to act good. What will we do? It depends on which wolf we feed. The one you feed is the one that grows stronger.

Pope Francis suggested that year’s end is an apt time to examine our conscience.

That’s not always easy but always vital as Todd Essig suggests, citing Peter Seeger and Martin Luther King.

Acting with integrity “causes good things to find their way back to you, but it takes effort,” writes Frank Sonnenberg.  Conversely, people who act untrustworthy, “hurt themselves every day” by losing the trust of colleagues, customers, friends and loved ones – but we already know that at least intellectually. What Sonnenberg provides in his book, Follow Your Conscience, are pithy points about 24 aspects of good character, suggesting exactly how adopting them enables us to enjoy a more meaningful, satisfying and successful life with others. 

Sidestep the Slippery Slope Of Dishonesty

In our increasingly connected world our bad and good actions are more likely to become more well-known yet, even if they aren’t, must live with what we have done. And, as the author of The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Dan Ariely points out, stealing money out of a cash register can prick our conscience more than hacking into an online account.

The lesson: We have more ways to slide down the slippery slope of deceit in a digital world and rationalize our actions so it behooves us to make a good conscience a top-of-mind priority.

See some of my favorite truths from Sonnenberg’s timely book over at my Forbes column.