Status

People need to feel part of something (whether it is a tribe, a team or just a gang of hoodlums) and after a period of initiation in that group, people are given a status (hunter, team psychoanalyst, the guy with the flick-knife). And according to this status we can live out our days with our destiny partially assured, as long as we perform, and gain pride from our status. Until we get bored or we want more.

At this point the hunter in the tribe takes on the chief, the team psychoanalyst masterminds the team leader’s plunge into depression, and the guy with the flick-knife ousts the gang’s leader.  In a less aggressive way status can be gained rationally and peacefully – people retire, are fired, change jobs, have children, revert to childish nature, or get promoted up and out. There is then a need for someone to take over, and before you know it, you’re apparently responsible and now you have a new status. Get ready to feel the force of competition – where previously you were a minion, now you have added responsibility, accountability and status, so people are out to get you. They become competition. They want what you’ve got. Live it up.

Status feels good, and the pain of responsibility and accountability ebbs with time and privilege, and before you know it, you’re wiser, older, and set. This is how you always wanted it. Status is something to be proud of.