This short video is an interesting perspective on life comparing résumé and eulogy by David Brooks. He is a journalist, author who teaches at Yale University, and is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In this short but interesting TED talk Should you live for your résumé … or your eulogy?, he talks about living for eulogy instead of résumé. He discusses two parts of our nature based on Soloveitchik‘s book: Adam I and Adam II; former represents ambitious, external self and the latter represents humble, internal self. Adam I asks, ‘How things work?’. Adam II asks, ‘Why we’re here’. This is what Brooks says –
We happen to live in a society that favors Adam I, and often neglects Adam II. And the problem is, that turns you into a shrewd animal who treats life as a game, and you become a cold, calculating creature who slips into a sort of mediocrity where you realize there’s a difference between your desired self and your actual self. You’re not earning the sort of eulogy you want, you hope someone will give to you. You don’t have the depth of conviction. You don’t have an emotional sonorousness. You don’t have commitment to tasks that would take more than a lifetime to commit.
Watch this intriguing talk here –
I have my own reservations about references to sin, supreme power and forgiveness, nevertheless I think there are many useful insights in this short talk that makes one wonder – Why am I here?
About the featured image:
The featured image used for this article is a screen-shot of the TED talk by David Brooks.
