As we grow older, we tend to shed what The New York Times columnist David Brooks calls “resumé virtues"— the trappings of success such as money and status — replacing them with what he calls “eulogy virtues.” They’re what your friends and family will say at your funeral -- whether you are kind, brave, honest, faithful. The quality, not the quantity of your relationships. Your integrity, your north star, In other words, your core values.
To Brooks, these eulogy virtues are paradoxical. That is, “You give to receive.” “You lose yourself to find yourself.” “Success leads to failure, which is pride.” Experienced people are quite capable of reconciling these apparent contradictions. Experienced people are also capable of taking action amidst these contradictions.
Inwardly we may find ourselves becoming more contemplative and spiritual. Externally, we may turn to what Dilip Jeste and Thomas Meek call “the promotion of common good rising above self interests.”
Our core values -- especially Brooks' eulogy virtues -- are the source of what can guide and energize us in taking action as changemakers. They give us our unique power.
To Brooks, these eulogy virtues are paradoxical. That is, “You give to receive.” “You lose yourself to find yourself.” “Success leads to failure, which is pride.” Experienced people are quite capable of reconciling these apparent contradictions. Experienced people are also capable of taking action amidst these contradictions.
Inwardly we may find ourselves becoming more contemplative and spiritual. Externally, we may turn to what Dilip Jeste and Thomas Meek call “the promotion of common good rising above self interests.”
Our core values -- especially Brooks' eulogy virtues -- are the source of what can guide and energize us in taking action as changemakers. They give us our unique power.