My 2 cents: To cross one's own ethics is a point of losing self, as I guess you discovered. To cross with one's own ethics can work. I think of my core values and ethics as my boat carrying me through very rough seas of expectations, pressures, false images, etc. I've gone overboard a number of times in my life, and then got back on board. Congratulations on getting back to your core values.
On May 15, 2020 David Doane wrote :