Many small things with which to disagree, but they're trivial and it's all-in-all a good piece. Let's not get stuck in the weeds here. More importantly, don't get stuck in the mud. Contentment is hard, but aim for it in a sensible way.
Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
151–160 of 164 posts
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#152I think status is our main currency as human beings. All that really matters is what others think of us. The main thing you have to figure out is _which_ status hierarchy you want to compete in, not _if_ you want to compete in a status hierarchy. Even people who claim not to care about what people think, actually do care what _some_ people think.
I rather have money and security, status is a means to that end, because sometimes there are gatekeepers or people who can help you but will write you off if they think you are not a peer or in group
I always am reminded of billionaire heirs, who shirk status games and give false last names to be treated as a normal person instead of a valuable business contact or such
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#153On the one hand, sure, status probably is a trap and won't bring "true happiness." And I think this is well meaning advice. But on the other hand, I think it's possible that an Ivy League educated founder/VC partner/executive coach might not be in the best position to see the whole picture. To paraphrase the Aviator[1], you don't care about status because you've always had it. I think that for many people who have ex…
I think the issue is that while the advice is literally true, most people aren't in life for "true happiness". Most people, if observed closely, are in it for the status. The people who are in it for happiness tend to be ascetics.
> Most people, if observed closely, are in it for the status.
This is why people are so easily manipulated: they're beholden to something that is easily gamed by the world at large. And that's exactly what it does.
That's why the advice is so good: it's meant to rattle them and make them start to question those beliefs.
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#154On the one hand, sure, status probably is a trap and won't bring "true happiness." And I think this is well meaning advice. But on the other hand, I think it's possible that an Ivy League educated founder/VC partner/executive coach might not be in the best position to see the whole picture. To paraphrase the Aviator[1], you don't care about status because you've always had it. I think that for many people who have ex…
True. The way I see is one category of people who would need first hand experience to know status really matters or not. They wouldn't find this advice much useful. But there is other group who would rather take the word of someone with status to believe status doesn't matter if they are saying so. Simply because they have status so they know better about it. I think at core most of advice from haves to have nots has…
This is why Aristotle, Plato, Seneca, et al are so highly valued - they are born in positions of leisure, as freemen, and speak about truly good acts which are away from the transience of society towards the permanence of the soul.
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#155> when our status is challenged, our body reacts like it's in physical danger While it's not 100% certain, the fact that there appears to be a biological adaptation that makes us seek status and avoid losing status strongly suggests that the author is underestimating the importance of status in human society. For example: "we find that status is significantly associated with men’s reproductive success, consistent wit…
That adaptation may not be appropriate for the modern environment.
When exposed to modern/ internet-scale communities, it could be that there are so many false-positive threats to one’s status that the advice to (generally) not worry too much about it is good advice.
Our innate desire for sweets comes to mind.
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'd be concerned that having a well-funded competitor would make life much harder. That's certainly true for things that you can buy with a lot of money, such as marketing. On the other hand, having such a competitor forces you to think really hard about how to help customers and what makes your company different.
Yes, and having a competitor can also help draw attention to a sector. But I would say my primary feeling about the situation would not involve status. It would involve increased competition and strategic disadvantages.
No argument there. My goal is to maximize interests of customers, employees, investors, and my own family. That's enough without worrying about somebody else's notions of status. As Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett said to Lady de Bourgh, "I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me."
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
> So while in the 50's, the advantages to being more high status seemed almost cosmetic Is this the same Fifties with white and colored water fountains, and where women had to leave office jobs when they married?
This is an interesting, fallacious take. Basically: one thing about some time in the past was bad, thus everything about it was bad. Higher wealth disparity, based on its impact on social stability, measured independently, is bad. Racism/sexism are bad. The impact of things must be measured separately, so our ideas regarding how to improve society are higher resolution and more accurate.
I made no claim at all like you suggest.
My single point is that status being cosmetic for Americans in the 1950s only makes any sense if you exclude many Americans from consideration.
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this the 50s where you couldn't get any credit or open a brokerage account even with your good enough single salary if you weren’t white and male, heterosexual? Trying to spark introspection about how all of these things are interrelated, but clearly only to some of us.
Are you implying it is contradictory to wish for both the wealth redistribution levels of the 50's and the human tolerance of now?
It probably is contradictory if 1950s level was artificially depressed by disqualifying 2/3rds of the population and ramming highways through the neighborhoods they had
to live in
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#159On the one hand, sure, status probably is a trap and won't bring "true happiness." And I think this is well meaning advice. But on the other hand, I think it's possible that an Ivy League educated founder/VC partner/executive coach might not be in the best position to see the whole picture. To paraphrase the Aviator[1], you don't care about status because you've always had it. I think that for many people who have ex…
I think the issue is that while the advice is literally true, most people aren't in life for "true happiness". Most people, if observed closely, are in it for the status. The people who are in it for happiness tend to be ascetics.
Can you give concrete examples?
Re: Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the issue is that while the advice is literally true, most people aren't in life for "true happiness". Most people, if observed closely, are in it for the status. The people who are in it for happiness tend to be ascetics.
Can you give concrete examples?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu
Buddhism is at its heart a serious journey in search of peace and (as far as they accept it exists) happiness. The monks generally own one bowl, up to 3 robes and a few other things. If your goal is "true happiness" then people really don't need much except to spend time being practising being happy with what they have.
True happiness is an evolutionary dead end though, so most people pursue status, like owning a big car. That isn't going to make anyone happy though, it is going to make them look like they have money. Otherwise, a small car is more effective and no car is much more relaxing.