Status And Fairness

Our place in the pecking order affects our thinking.

Our watchword is consciousness and we should be aware of how our minds handle status:

• What criteria do you use and are they helpful? If status to you means material wealth, shouldn’t you keep in mind that the most important things in life are intangible and hard to quantify and that being richer or poorer than the person next to you does not change how much actual wealth you have?
• To whom do we compare ourselves? The tendency is to measure ourselves against those around us. But are they the most appropriate people? Are we trying to ‘fit in’ with the right reference group? Striving to match the standards of the highest achievers may push us to higher levels of performance but at what cost and if we fall short, wouldn’t we have been happier being a big fish in a different pond? Or perhaps, we have set our sights too low?