I think people have thresholds for things like status. As an analogy, there is a widespread belief that income after a certain threshold doesn't contribute to overall happiness.
Very often you will hear people say "X doesn't matter!" on any number of subjects. Maybe it is height amongst males for dating. Or maybe it is income. Or maybe it is status. But what I believe is happening when people say such things is that the person saying that "X" doesn't matter is past whatever threshold is required for that aspect.
The other thing I consider is that these thresholds are actually percentiles across populations. To completely make up numbers for the sake of illustration, maybe 1% of people expect a status of "doctor" or "lawyer", 10% of people expect a status of "white collar professional", 40% of people expect a status of "gainfully employed", etc. The higher up the chain of percentiles you find your own status, the less you probably think status is important because you are noticing that once you are passed the threshold of a person they start to look for other aspects to differentiate you. Stated another way, if you have status that passes 90% of peoples thresholds, you probably think some other aspect of your character is the most important because you rarely, if ever, feel discriminated against because of your status.
This view suggests a strategy. Rather than going "all-in" on any particular aspect (e.g. seeking high-status primarily), one ought to consider all of the relevant aspects and their thresholds.
Very often you will hear people say "X doesn't matter!" on any number of subjects. Maybe it is height amongst males for dating. Or maybe it is income. Or maybe it is status. But what I believe is happening when people say such things is that the person saying that "X" doesn't matter is past whatever threshold is required for that aspect.
The other thing I consider is that these thresholds are actually percentiles across populations. To completely make up numbers for the sake of illustration, maybe 1% of people expect a status of "doctor" or "lawyer", 10% of people expect a status of "white collar professional", 40% of people expect a status of "gainfully employed", etc. The higher up the chain of percentiles you find your own status, the less you probably think status is important because you are noticing that once you are passed the threshold of a person they start to look for other aspects to differentiate you. Stated another way, if you have status that passes 90% of peoples thresholds, you probably think some other aspect of your character is the most important because you rarely, if ever, feel discriminated against because of your status.
This view suggests a strategy. Rather than going "all-in" on any particular aspect (e.g. seeking high-status primarily), one ought to consider all of the relevant aspects and their thresholds.