The New Crop: Issue #14
Résumé virtues and eulogy virtues
What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: Résumé virtues and eulogy virtues
📚 Read: Six Thinking Hats
😆 Today’s Laugh
My 7-year-old daughter happens to love birds, and she recently picked up a book from the library called “State Birds of the United States”. Last night, she wanted to learn about the state bird of Alaska, which happens to be the Willow Ptarmigan.
I had never heard of that bird and we were curious what it sounded like. It is SO strange!
Fun fact: the Willow Ptarmigan is only white in winter months, to blend in with its surroundings (although, I feel like those eyebrows might be easy to spot? 🤷♀️).
💭 Today’s Thought
In a New York Times piece, David Brooks draws a distinction between résumé virtues and eulogy virtues.
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?
One major source of the great dissonance we might experience in our daily lives is just this…
We yearn for a life that reflects eulogy virtues, and yet we pour so much of our time and energy into chasing résumé virtues.
What’s this balance like for you?
While Brooks draws a clear distinction between these two sets of virtues, I find it though provoking to consider a world where there’s full alignment between the two. Consider:
What if these two sets of virtues don’t need to be mutually exclusive? What if “the skills you bring to the marketplace” could fully reflect your eulogy virtues? What would that look like for you?
🖊️ Today’s reflection
If you’re new to journaling, I highly encourage you to read Nancy Adler’s article: Want to be an outstanding leader? Keep a journal.
This week, find a quiet place and gift yourself 10 minutes to reflect on any of these prompts (or invent your own!):
What are your eulogy virtues?
What are your résumé virtues?
How are you nurturing each type of virtue and what, if anything, would you like to be different?
📚 Today’s Read
“Six Thinking Hats” is a powerful technique developed by Edward de Bono that encourages you to look at decisions from different perspectives. Each “hat” represents a different way of thinking, and this technique can be applied to individual or group decisions. Check it out!
See you next week!
xo,
Anne