These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 1: How to Better Manage Conflicts

Week 15: Ethics Challenges

• The greatest challenge with ethics is the definition itself.

• Being ethical can make you feel as if you are in continuous conflicts. Stick to your ethics, but beware of exhausting yourself fighting windmills.

• Although conflicts are quite often referred to as war, it is good to stick to your values even if others do not show you their esteem. People regularly evaluate and admire your performance, even if they rarely express their admiration.

• Do not exaggerate the fear of getting your hands dirty while you are trying to overcome conflicts ethically.

• Even if you are a good person, you will recognize that playing conflicts ethically is not your independent decision. Nevertheless, that does not mean you should extend your hands completely to the devil.

• Before refuting your opponent’s false claims about you, think whether they can be exploited to your advantage without admitting them.

• Your opponent may provide false claims that benefit both of you in front of the media and the public. This is a win-win situation but not absolutely when you play ethically.

• It is not always a tricky approach; transferring the problem is a must when you realize it originally pertains to others, or at least should be shared with other concerned parties.

• When you fight ethically, that decreases your chances to win. However, you can still turn the situation in your favor by confirming your opponent’s suspicions that you are just playing the ideal opponent’s role.

• Revenge should be your last motive, and it is better to eliminate it from your motivations list. This probably allows you to think and act wisely and efficiently.

• Accepting the following fact does not mean that you are necessarily bypassing ethics: your current opponent could be your next ally, and vice versa.

• Be careful of your own tactics and strategies; it is a fine line between what you consider legitimate tricks and betrayal.

• Sometimes it looks even like a gray area; consider your trustworthy coworker’s evaluation if your action is perceived by others as betrayal.

• Winning the conflict depends on how you deliver your case, more than being right or wrong. That doubles your ethics challenges.