Rumors are what people say about you. Your record is what you can’t argue with.

You cannot control the story going around, and chasing it usually feeds it. What you can control is the pile of evidence: what you showed up for, what you finished, how you treated people who could do nothing for you. Over time that pile weighs more than talk. Not immediately, though, and the waiting is the hard part.

When something untrue is circulating, resist the urge to build a defence case. Keep doing the ordinary visible things. The people who matter are already measuring the rumour against what they have watched you do.