ah i loved this so much! especially your point about "not caring about status being another form of status."
i truly think there's no way to "escape" the status game. it's built into the dna of who we are as humans. but i do think we can learn to mitigate its side effects.
status seems strongly tied to ego, and while ego has its place, it often gets in the way of things. so i've recently tried integrating a sort of litmus test for my actions:
i ask myself, "am i doing X because it's genuinely helpful/value-giving/productive? or is it because i want to feel good about myself?"
99% of the time, if i'm doing something just to feel good about myself, it's anti-(helpful/value-giving/productive).
ah i loved this so much! especially your point about "not caring about status being another form of status."
i truly think there's no way to "escape" the status game. it's built into the dna of who we are as humans. but i do think we can learn to mitigate its side effects.
status seems strongly tied to ego, and while ego has its place, it often gets in the way of things. so i've recently tried integrating a sort of litmus test for my actions:
i ask myself, "am i doing X because it's genuinely helpful/value-giving/productive? or is it because i want to feel good about myself?"
99% of the time, if i'm doing something just to feel good about myself, it's anti-(helpful/value-giving/productive).