Chanced upon a great commencement speech (video, transcript) by Wharton Professor, Adam Grant who has written landmark books - Give and Take, Originals and Option B). He talks about the importance of resilience over popular virtues like Generosity, Authenticity and Grit. He argues that you'd need Resilience to be able to hold on to your virtues, especially when you are down and out. He argues that everyone should follow the airplane rule - you mask yourself first, before helping others to put it on.
On generosity, his advice is to help others, but not at the cost of burning out yourself. You might feel less altruistic, but you'd have helped far more people. Giving has to be energising than exhausting.
Adam argues that clinging on to being authentic all the time could stunt your own development. To be authentic, you need to be crystal clear about your identity and values. You need to know exactly who you are. And that can tether you to a fixed anchor, closing the door to growth. So, be true to yourself, but not so much that your true self never evolves.
Adam Grant feels "never give up" is a bad virtue. Sometimes quitting is a virtue. Grit doesn’t mean “keep doing the thing that’s failing.” It means “define your dreams broadly enough that you can find new ways to pursue them when your first and second plans fail.”
Found it interesting? You can read the full transcript of the speech here and/or watch the video below:
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