One way I interpreted it is that our reputation is a second order effect of our actions—we cannot control it directly. Your insight about “honor” or “principles” such as “A Lannister always pays his debts” might be a valid to try to approach and communicate what we want our reputation to be and what actions we are taking to get there.
Thanks for sharing! This reminds me of a similar post I recently read on Commonplace.
https://commoncog.com/blog/gap-between-reputation-personal-brand/
One way I interpreted it is that our reputation is a second order effect of our actions—we cannot control it directly. Your insight about “honor” or “principles” such as “A Lannister always pays his debts” might be a valid to try to approach and communicate what we want our reputation to be and what actions we are taking to get there.