Do you know that a quality reputation is an asset, a currency that you need and benefit from in life, whether in your personal or professional life?
Most people don't think about reputation that way, see it that way or believe it yet it's factual and evidential.
When your are continuously building your reputation, it is like any currency you own and it becomes "working capital" to help make life easier and protect you. The same holds true if you are neglecting your reputation or worse, do damage to it, whether one time or repeatedly, whether in small negative experiences for other people or one large, significant one.
When you have sufficient reputation capital and are always adding to it by building it with high character when you are interacting with others, when you make a relative minor mistake (in the eyes of others) you can better weather the judgment you receive, better than if your reputation is shaky or poor.