UPBUILDING THE SELF

An Existential Crisis Is an Opportunity for Growth

If you are not having an existential crisis, well, you are not looking hard enough.

In this episode, Hari Prasada, Michael, and Rasanath do a deep dive into existential crises, their causes, and how to deal with them. They discuss the link between existential crises and the fear of death, how the fear of not being my ego and the fear of death is essentially the same thing, the importance of spirituality, and how their own existential crises led them to having this conversation.

Podcast Hosts: Hari Prasada, Michael and Rasanath

Highlights

  • [2:40] What is an existential crisis?

  • [7:50] The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker

  • [10:30] A message to "the invincibility of youthfulness."

  • [13:20] We are all engaged in our immortality projects

  • [20:10] The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel by Milan Kundera

  • [23:00] The existential crises of success

  • [31:40] The different identities we build for ourselves

  • [38:00] Is lack of time really the problem?

  • [39:50] How to look internally for answers in an achievement-oriented society

  • [45:20] The pain of recovery vs. the pain of an accident

  • [47:40] Mastering our life only by confronting our death

Quotes

  • "We had a collective existential crisis in the last three years when the pandemic changed the nature of how we thought about life." -Rasanath

  • "Skepticism is basically sophisticated defensiveness. It's well disguised because it comes across as sophisticated, knowledgeable, and practical." -Rasanath

  • “I've seen this…[continuous thought of mine]...of never wanting my peak to have passed. Because what would that mean? That would mean I would have to start looking at death much more in the face.” -Michael

  • "The existential crisis of success is: I succeeded, and then I realize that it doesn't feel like I thought it would." -Rasanath

  • "At the end of the day, we're afraid of losing our core. The real me that I'm striving to be, that I wish I could uncover. And death is a threat to that." -Hari Prasada

For first timers, welcome to Upbuilding the Self

About the podcast: Two former monks, a former startup founder and CEO, and a former equity derivatives trader dive into how to be our best selves, free from the ego. Our egos are the identities we create for ourselves and wish the world to validate, but when we are not seen as we want to be, we feel insecure. This podcast lives at the intersection of leadership and spirituality. It will help you understand your ego and shed light on your inner world so that you can act with greater clarity, compassion, and the freedom to be your best self.