Humility is the road to character

There are two inner selves in one person - Adam I and Adam II. Adam I pursues resume virtues, while Adam II pursues eulogy virtues.

The shift from a culture of humility to the culture of “big me” encourages people to nurture Adam I.

In the times of humility, elder George Bush, he resisted speaking about himself and crossed out the word “I” instinctively in the speech text. And the speechwriter would beg him: You’re running for president. You’ve got to talk about yourself. Finally, they did cow him into doing so. However, the next day he’d get a call from his mother. “George, you’re talking about yourself again.”

This shift may be caused by the increasingly tremendous benefits brought by fame. (Thanks for the mass media and then the Internet.) Since the culture prefers people who self-promote, people become more narcissistic than ever.

==Pride is the desire to see yourself as superior to everybody else. Humility is the self-confrontation of weakness==. Thus it is painful and takes efforts to build the character with humility. You are not alone. Kant says we are all made from ==crooked timber==.

How to improve my humility? Reflect on errors by asking questions and develop strategies to act differently next time. Did I make mistakes today? Am I putting my loves in disorder? Am I not fully present for people who are asking my advice or revealing some vulnerability? Am I more interested in making a good impression than in listening to other people in depth?

==The author David Brooks believes - only Adam II can experience deep satisfaction in life==. I think that regarding SWOT analysis, in addition to strength-opportunity strategy, this book advises another direction for actions: weaknesses-threats strategy.