the second mountain the quest for a moral life

#The second mountain the quest for a moral life how to#
#The second mountain the quest for a moral life movie#
#The second mountain the quest for a moral life pdf#
#The second mountain the quest for a moral life free#

When you give your time and energy to others, enjoy their company, and help them rise higher, you improve their lives. Instead of a quest for self-fulfillment, the path to joy is about self-transcendence. Additionally, flawed as happiness is, it’s nothing compared to joy, which is a more constant and profound sense of emotional well-being. It’s not about avoiding happiness as much as not making it your sole focus. It is wise to begin your ascent up the second mountain by asking yourself, “what’s in it for me?”įirst, you don’t have to give up your goals entirely to help other people.

Now, before you start groaning at how difficult it can be to lose yourself in the care of others, it’s not all so terrible. So what are we to do about this dilemma we are all experiencing? Lesson 2: Serving the people around us is the greatest focus we can have in life, and brings not only happiness, but joy as well. Life then becomes a sea of sadness, with little bits of pleasure scattered in between. The problem is that the pursuit of personal enjoyment is fleeting because it only comes when we’ve completed a goal. While you may experience some prosperity after scaling this peak, you will still end up feeling that you are missing something from your life.

People don’t have a feeling of grounding anymore because they are climbing the first mountain of material success. We are becoming increasingly lonely, and we see higher rates of depression and suicide as a result. Less than ¼ of Americans trust their government, and the number of people who know their neighbors is decreasing also.

#The second mountain the quest for a moral life free#

Whether you like it or not, the loneliness that results from doing things your way and living free is harmful to society. Unfortunately, this way of thinking sets us apart from others, which negates the benefits that communities provide. We are taught to resist any commitment that could limit our personal freedom, such as being religious or starting a family. Everywhere we turn, we see people telling us to do whatever we want, follow our desires, and focus on ourselves.

#The second mountain the quest for a moral life pdf#

If you want to save this summary for later, download the free PDF and read it whenever you want.ĭownload PDF Lesson 1: Society is plagued by widespread selfishness, which is making us all lonely and ultimately unhappy.

#The second mountain the quest for a moral life how to#

Get your climbing gear on and let’s learn how to scale The Second Mountain ! Putting the needs of others above your own requires commitment and hard work, love alone won’t cut it.Joy is better than happiness, and we receive it when we scale the second mountain, or a life of caring for people.

Individualism causes a lack of social connections, which leads to people feeling adrift as they focus on the first mountain, which is material success.Here are 3 of the most life-changing lessons this book teaches: After reading this, you may rethink your goal of rising to the top of the ladder of material wealth. Will we choose to use our innate talents and skills to ascend our own mountain of success? Or might we instead give our lives in service to others, climbing a different, better mountain instead? Offering yourself for a better cause is exactly the idea that David Brooks teaches in his book The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life. Fortunately for half of humanity, he decides to choose the higher path and become a superhero.įictional characters aside, you and I have the same choice to make. He can either use his newfound abilities to help save the world or squander them on keeping his hands healed so he can continue to do surgery. Partway through his journey to learn the strange new art of magic, his mentor gives him this wise advice:Īt this point in the movie, Strange has a choice to make. Having his hands mangled by a terrible car accident, he is unable to perform surgery again.

#The second mountain the quest for a moral life movie#

In the 2016 movie Doctor Strange, the main character is a surgeon. Listen to the audio of this summary with a free reading.fm account*: