I don’t know if this has occurred to you, but it’s occurred to me recently that what really drives markets is the concept of status.

It’s the beliefs we hold about ourselves (status) that govern a great deal of our behaviour and most people take their measure of status from outside of themselves, meaning we separate, categorise, label, and then judge.

Judgement creates separation and separation leads to hierarchy and therefore status. When we know our status (which requires relation to something else), we know which direction to head and what to consume next to either maintain or enhance that status.

Here are 5 problems with that.

1. It’s based on a finite model of resources.
2. It only works if we all operate the same way
3. It’s made up and doesn’t exist in nature (trees don’t compare themselves to other trees!)
4. It’s open to manipulation
5. Achievement of an external result that you cannot control creates a volatile and fragile sense of self-worth.

Here’s a truth – no amount of consumption of stuff is going to give you the feeling of status you’re looking for. That’s impossible because It’s not the ‘thing’ but our ‘thinking’ about the ‘thing’ that creates feeling. Don’t take my word for it, reflect on it a while and you’ll see the truth.

While you think it’s possible, you’re likely to buy stuff you don’t need, with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like. It’s a race to the bottom.

If you’d like to explore the possibilities of a race in the other direction, then get in touch.