Eulogy Versus Resume Virtues
by David Brooks
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 About once a month I run across a person who radiates an inner light. These people can be in any walk of life. They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. You often catch them looking after other people and as they do so their laugh is musical and their manner is infused with gratitude. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.
When I meet such a person it brightens my whole day. But I confess I often have a sadder thought: It occurs to me that I’ve achieved a decent level of career success, but I have not achieved that. I have not achieved that generosity of spirit, or that depth of character.
A few years ago I realized that I wanted to be a bit more like those people. I realized that if I wanted to do that I was going to have to work harder to save my own soul. I was going to have to have the sort of moral adventures that produce that kind of goodness. I was going to have to be better at balancing my life.
It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?
We all know that the eulogy virtues are more important than the résumé ones. But our culture and our educational systems spend more time teaching the skills and strategies you need for career success than the qualities you need to radiate that sort of inner light. Many of us are clearer on how to build an external career than on how to build inner character.
But if you live for external achievement, years pass and the deepest parts of you go unexplored and unstructured. You lack a moral vocabulary. It is easy to slip into a self-satisfied moral mediocrity. You grade yourself on a forgiving curve. You figure as long as you are not obviously hurting anybody and people seem to like you, you must be O.K. But you live with an unconscious boredom, separated from the deepest meaning of life and the highest moral joys. Gradually, a humiliating gap opens between your actual self and your desired self, between you and those incandescent souls you sometimes meet.
About the Author: David Brooks is a columnist from NY Times. The above excerpt is from his article The Moral Bucket List.
Latest Community Insights  |
Eulogy Versus Resume Virtues
How do you relate to the distinction between eulogy and resume virtues? Can you share a personal story of a time you became aware of this distinction in your own life? What practice helps you develop eulogy virtues? |
| Jagdish P Dave wrote: David Brooks talks about me and many friends I know deeply.People may not remember me for what I did or said. They remember me and will remember me by how I made them feel, how I got connected … |
| sheetal wrote: Rightly said Eulogy virtues are only spoken at the time of funeral. The hard truth of the world is that resume virtues are the ones that are celebrated. Sometimes it has been noticed that even spirit… |
| david doane wrote: I appreciate the distinction between eulogy and resume virtues that David Brooks points out, and his honesty in talking about himself. I have been aware of the distinction, but not in the terms… |
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Editor’s note: Dear Friends, Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day yesterday (for those of you in the US). It is always a great time to reflect on others, who have impacted our lives without ever knowing us. It also marks the beginning of summer vacations. Hope you have something fun and relaxing in the works, for the months ahead.
Sangha of Auspicious Companions 