It really is silly, something archaic that would have made sense thousands of years ago when we were less evolved, culturally and intellectually. I am taking about valuing people in strict terms like career success, and having that being directly measured in monetary value. Or even more extreme, in measuring popularity in terms of likes or followers.
Either we like it or not, most of us are in some ways falling for this fallacy. We think people who posts a lot of content of themselves and get a lot of attention somehow are happier than us, while they are most likely filling a need for attention in an unhealthy way. Or by people owning luxury cars or huge houses are any happier than the next man, not wanting a yacht or a Ferrari to then relax and be happy.
Before the computer age you were measured by how much of a value you were to your community, how nice you were to the next man, how much you volunteered without expecting anything in return. Now our social sphere have expanded to literally the whole world, where attention and admiration can be collected and measured across the world from people we have no idea who are. We focus a lot of time in valuing ourselves and others for posting images of things we bought, or food we ate at restaurants, which again feed into consumerism and make other people unsatisfied by what they don't have. There is a reason why popular youtubers and instagrammers can earn a lot by recommending products or doing product placements.
I know I provide a lot of value in just being a friend. And they bring a lot of value to me by just us spending time together. I also know I bring a lot of value to the world by being a son and a brother, and helping them out when they need it, or just being social with them. They bring a lot more value to me than a nice car or a big house would ever bring, and we probably all know that deep inside.
But we often focus our attention on new unattainable things, instead of appreciating what we have and try to accept who we are, both good and bad. We should try to enjoy every moment of life, not worrying about those things we can`t do or can't get. So we perhaps did not become a millionaire by 30, or a lawyer like we wanted, or got a BMW and mansion like we planned to. But so what? We should all know by now that those things are superficial, that good friends or or potential partners should not measure our value in our car, house or job. That they should value you for you, and that is ultimately what we want out of the people we spend time with.
I think it is time to realize that bringing value to the world does not mean earning lots of money, having a ton of followers or likes, or having a high status career.
We need to realize that the way the economy works is by letting us know how little value we have, by showing us how unnecessary things can make us happy. This is extremely effective in pushing us to buy new things, and we must fight it as much as we can.
Even if you are rich and have enough to get through life comfortably, they have created lots of sports, super and hyper-cars that you cant afford, and that you should get to finally become happy and respected. The fact is that unless you are willingly causing harm to others, you are most likely providing a lot of value to others and fulfilling an important part of their lives which cant be measured in likes or money.
Submitted December 10, 2017 at 07:33PM by appelsinskall http://ift.tt/2C3NmZh
