Anurag Jain's Blog on Bangalore Events, Travel, IIM Bangalore, IIM, IIMB, Management

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Posted 5:00 PM by Anurag

The Self-Obituary Thing!

You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?".
(a Quote from the movie Serendipity)

Now I am no Greek, and hence I guess I would need an obituary. Well, then why not be proactive and write my own? Actually, I have been aware of Self-obituary method for last 2 years or so. It's a fantastic tool, increasingly being adopted by b-schools worldwide, to introspect and to know what you wanna do in life. Just like I was totally taken by the idea of writing self-obituary when I first heard of it, the Bangalore Times journalist Vinita Shetty also got quite keen on the idea when I discussed it with her first some 3-4 weeks back. As a result of our discussions, just two days back, Vinita published the article (text only version) in Bangalore Times, Times of India (Mar 29, 2005).

More thoughts on Self-obit methodology.
# No, no dont get me wrong. its not like digging my own grave. Its what follows when my grave is dug (by anyone, and not necessarily me!).
# I came across this idea about 2 years year back in some magazine or website. Can't recall where.
# Idea is to write your own obituary in third person, as read by someone close to you at your funeral. Why? Because it gives you an opportunity to introspect, to understand yourself better, and to see your life as you would like it at the end of it! Also, it allows you to see what kind of impression you would like to leave behind. That impression should translate into an action plan for your remaining life. So it helps in creating an ambition/aspiration road-map!
# It's a dynamic document that can/should be changed every year or so.
# It has to be short: There has to be a difference between autobiography and self-obituary! In that sense, self-obituary is more akin to what is called elevator-pitch in VC circles, as opposed to biography which would be a more comparable to a detailed B-plan.
# The problem with Self-obituaries is that they usually tend to be self-praising. People seem to take it as an opportunity to write 'only' about their achievements in life. The majority of people skip any negative references to their life! That is why, if done properly, Self-obits are even more important as they enable one to get a realistic, balanced view of one's own life.
# Going by the point above, self-bias is definitely an issue with Self-obits. But then, if the objective of the exercise is clear, one would automatically strive to be fair, to achieve a balance in self-obit.
# From http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7006/680 (Stephen Lock 'seems to be' the originator of idea)
"Self written obituaries were introduced several years ago with the aim of getting the facts right as the basis for an appreciation by somebody else. Even so, I am not sure that they have been a great success (and I can say this because the original idea was mine). Too often, the attempt turns out to be a self justification or an apologia, and, though there are exceptions (such as the much quoted self obituary by Archie Cochrane3), I think that appreciations by disinterested colleagues are to be preferred--as they are to be preferred to the panegyrics written by spouses or children."
# For more, type "Self-obituary" and "own-obituary" in google.

Before I end this post (not my life!), I should tell you that I'll publish my Self-obituary tomorrow right here. :)

0 comments

Comments: Post a Comment