Status Anxiety Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Status Anxiety

Einleitung anhören

00:00

Zusammenfassung von Status Anxiety

Name: Status Anxiety
Rating: 4.5 (280 reviews)
Author: Alain de Botton

Alain de Botton

How social isolation and meritocracy cause fear of underachievement and how to solve this

4.5 (280 Bewertungen)

26 Min.

Themen

Stoizismus

Inhaltsübersicht

Status Anxiety
in 10 Kernaussagen verstehen

Audio & Text in der Blinkist App

Kernaussage 1 von 10

What’s in it for me? Reevaluate the status quo through a philosophical and historical lens.

Nearly every society on earth has been organized through some sort of hierarchy, from ancient Egypt to modern America. You could reasonably argue that status is inevitable – a natural part of life. But is it natural to be as stressed as we are today about our positions on the ladder of society? In other words, have we always had such severe status anxiety?

These blinks argue that our constant fear of underachievement is a fairly new phenomenon, driven by wide-ranging factors, including social isolation and meritocracy. While we’re more materially advanced than ever, we certainly aren’t happier. The following blinks will look at a few explanations for why that is, as well as offer a few solutions to the problem of status anxiety.

Along the way, you’ll find out

who the original snobs were;
how a drawing of a pear got a cartoonist thrown in jail; and
what we can learn from ruined buildings.

A lack of love causes our anxiety to skyrocket.

What drives someone to want to constantly accumulate larger and larger sums of money? The answer that immediately comes to mind might be a simple one – greed. But there’s a small hole in that argument. If greed were the only factor, why would someone continue to desire more money, even after she’s reached an amount of wealth that couldn’t be spent in, say, five generations?

If people accumulated wealth for material reasons only – like wanting a bigger house or a fancier car – they would eventually run out of things to buy, and their pursuit of money would stop. But we know that’s not the case, so the root cause must be something else.

Consider the way we treat people of high status versus those of low status. Even the language we use when talking about each group is different. People who hold important positions in society are “somebodies,” while everyone else is a “nobody.” It’s impossible to actually be nobody, of course, but all too often, low-status people have their identities ignored or denied.

So, the quest for status might actually be about respect, and even love – not romantic love, but a feeling that your existence matters to someone.

Why is love so important, and lovelessness so destructive? Well, most of us are unsure of our own value, and our identities are very much based on the perceptions of others. If you tell a joke and everyone laughs, your confidence in the idea that you’re a funny person will grow. On the other hand, if people avert their eyes when you walk into a room, it won’t be long before you start feeling worthless and anxious.

Our self-esteem is so fragile. Think of it as a balloon with a hole – this leaky self-esteem balloon constantly needs to be refilled with the “helium” of external love so as not to deflate completely. Meanwhile, other actions – even small ones, like not being greeted enthusiastically enough or having our calls repeatedly unanswered – can suck more air out of the balloon.

So, it’s not surprising that we’re anxious about our place in the world. In our current society, our status determines how much love and respect we’ll receive from others and, as a result, whether we can confidently love ourselves.

As we reach adulthood, we come into contact with snobs who we’re constantly striving to please.

When you were a baby, what exactly did you do that inspired everyone around to ooh, and ahh, and fawn over you? It probably wasn’t your crying, screaming, and burping – it was just the fact that you were alive, not to mention small and cute.

Sadly, as we get older, our social circle expands to start including people who don’t respect and love us unconditionally. Instead, we need to earn their approval and admiration. And often, those we’re trying to impress are self-important snobs.

Anxiety results when reality doesn’t live up to our expectations.

If you tried to list all the advantages we in modern society have when compared to, say, medieval Europeans, you might need a couple of hours. Not only were everyday conveniences rare for the peasantry, but they also had to cope with famine and disease while the rich kept a safe distance. Most people’s status anxiety must have been through the roof, right?

Actually, while our material comforts have increased exponentially in the last two thousand years, so have our levels of status anxiety. Why haven’t we managed to achieve mental stability alongside physical comfort?

In a highly meritocratic society, poverty leads to low self-esteem.

Picture a scene from medieval Europe: a lord and lady decked out in their richest garb, sipping wine and strolling through well-manicured gardens. Peasants labor in the fields and in their tiny huts not too far away. Now ask yourself – did the lord and lady ever fear being struck by misfortune and becoming peasants, and did the peasant seriously aspire to one day become a lord?

In the past, status was pretty much immutable. In fact, it was extraordinarily difficult to stop being a lord if you wanted to, even as it was basically impossible to stop being a laborer. But despite the lack of social mobility, the working classes of medieval and pre-modern Europe had one significant source of comfort – Christianity. To them, rich and poor people existed not because some had worked harder to achieve their status than others, but simply because God had willed it. Both groups had a recognized place in society, and even if the rich looked condescendingly upon the poor, each recognized the other’s role.

Success is often bestowed at the mercy of our employers and the economy.

Most of us grow up assuming that, one day, we’ll need to find a job and be employed by someone else. But just 200 years ago, in 1800, only 20 percent of the American workforce was employed by another person. By 1900, that figure rose to 50 percent, and by 2000, 90 percent.

In today’s work environment, much of our own success is tied to our employer’s. But unfortunately, the conditions of labor don’t tend to be weighted in the employees’ favor.

Philosophy challenges existing worldviews and helps us redefine what constitutes virtue.

A story goes that when Alexander the Great visited Corinth in the early fifth century BC, he found the philosopher Diogenes dressed in rags and sitting underneath a tree. When Alexander asked him if he could do anything to help, Diogenes simply responded, “Yes, if you could step out of the way. You are blocking the sun” – with no heed for the fact that Alexander was the most powerful person in the world at the time.

Diogenes, of course, understood the difference between kindness and ridicule – what he had decided to ignore was the rule set provided by the traditional honor code. From its origins right up to the present day, philosophers have questioned the status quo, forcing us to ask ourselves why we value what we do. Instead of blindly accepting others’ perceptions of them as reality, philosophers used reason to assess other people's judgments.

Art allows us to elevate the beauty and significance of ordinary lives.

In Industrial Revolution-era England, art and practicality were butting heads. Those in favor of practicality argued that art can’t build factories, lay railways, or plan new cities. Art-supporters, on the other hand, claimed that art could offer solutions to some of life’s most deep-set anxieties.

“Art is the criticism of life,” wrote Matthew Arnold, a poetry professor at Oxford, and one of art’s biggest defenders at the time. What did he mean by that statement? Perhaps just that there are things about life worth criticizing – including our approach to status.

Remember that status hinges on the values and politics of the particular society in which you live.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that our modern society’s definition of success is natural or universal. But, societies throughout history have had wildly different ideas about who deserves status and who doesn’t.

Take the ancient Spartans. An ideal Spartan was an aggressive man with bulging muscles and a disinterest in family life. He didn’t know how to count, because doing so would indicate a commercial spirit, and he lived and breathed battle – so much that he was only allowed one night per month with his wife. If his children were born “weak,” they would be taken into the mountains and left to die.

Understanding the scale and scope of history helps us understand the equality of all people.

According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the ancient Egyptians had a custom of bringing out stretchers carrying skeletons and passing them between the tables at the end of great feasts. Was this to make partygoers even more keen to drink and dance, or to send them back home on a serious note?

Unfortunately, Herodotus doesn’t give us an answer. In either case, though, the thought of death brings people closer to whatever they value in life, whether it’s partying by the banks of the Nile or choosing to stop partying and do something else. Though it might seem morbid at first, the reminder of death, or memento mori, helps us cast off other people’s opinions and reassess what is truly important to us.

Bohemians upend the social order by refusing to participate in society in a traditional way.

When you hear the word “bohemian,” you might picture a young, hippie-ish man or woman with messy hair, baggy clothing, and the job title of poet or artist. While bohemian fashion is now a modern fad, bohemia itself actually began in the early nineteenth century. The term defined a loose group of people who dressed simply, lived in cheap areas, valued art over business, and sometimes had nontraditional sex lives.

The bourgeoisie first came into prominence around Napoleon’s fall in 1815. Shortly after, the bohemians rose up to oppose almost everything they stood for – primarily materialism and triviality. Most importantly, bohemians challenged traditional ideas of who deserved status and for what reason.

Du möchtest die gesamte Zusammenfassung von Status Anxiety sehen?

Kernaussagen in Status Anxiety

Mehr Wissen in weniger Zeit

Sachbücher auf den Punkt gebracht

Kernaussagen aus Sachbüchern in ca. 15 Minuten pro Titel lesen & anhören mit den „Blinks”

Zeitsparende Empfehlungen

Titel, die dein Leben bereichern, passend zu deinen Interessen und Zielen

Podcasts in Kurzform ^Neu

Kernaussagen wichtiger Podcasts im Kurzformat mit den neuen „Shortcasts”

Worum geht es in Status Anxiety?

Status Anxiety (2005) diagnoses a problem unique to modern Western societies: the fear of being perceived as unsuccessful. While our desire to climb to ever-higher rungs on the social ladder can inspire and motivate us, it can also lead to anxiety and depression. This book examines the causes of our anxiety about status and suggests a few antidotes that might help us face our fears.

Bestes Zitat aus Status Anxiety

The rich man glories in his riches because he feels that they naturally draw upon him the attention of the world. – Adam Smith

—Alain de Botton

Wer Status Anxiety lesen sollte

Social climbers who want to reevaluate their motivations
People who feel stressed about underachievement
Anyone who has ever looked down on someone for being a “nobody”

Über den Autor

Alain de Botton is a philosopher, author, and founder of the School of Life, an institute that teaches emotional intelligence and aims to help people lead more fulfilling lives. He is the bestselling author of The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life.

Kategorien mit Status Anxiety

Philosophie Gesellschaft & Kultur

Ähnlich wie Status Anxiety

The School of Life

Alain de Botton and The School of Life

An Emotional Education

29 min

4.6

How Proust Can Change Your Life

Alain de Botton

Valuable Insights Into Living Your Best Life

26 min

4.6

The Answer to Anxiety

Joyce Meyer

How to Break Free from the Tyranny of Anxious Thoughts and Worry

Learn how to get the most out of your next travel adventure

New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

Simple Tools from Sixty Great Thinkers to Improve Your Life Today

22 min

4.2

The Architecture of Happiness

Alain de Botton

Explore the hidden links between buildings and our well being

What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know

21 min

4.1

The Porn Trap

Wendy Maltz & Larry Maltz

The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography

A Brief History of Humankind

28 min

4.4

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think

Brianna Wiest

Philosophical Meditations That Will Change Your Life

Myths about genius and what it really means to be great

16 min

4.3

The Worry-Free Mind

Carol Kershaw and Bill Wade

Train Your Brain, Calm the Stress Spin Cycle, and Discover a Happier, More Productive You

16 min

4.4

The Power of the Downstate

Sara C. Mednick

The New Science to Ignite Energy, Enhance Sharpness, and Reclaim Balance

22 min

4.7

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

24 min

4.7

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It

Kamal Ravikant

How the Simple Act of Self-Love Can Transform Your Life

How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

20 min

4.5

Stop Walking on Eggshells

Paul T. Mason & Randi Kreger

Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder

One of the most important philosophical texts ever written

21 min

4.5

You Can Thrive After Narcissistic Abuse

Melanie Tonia Evans

The #1 System for Recovering from Toxic Relationships

21 min

4.7

Difficult Conversations

Douglas Stone

How to Discuss What Matters Most

Escape the mind-trap of imposter syndrome

17 min

4.5

How to Think Like a Philosopher

Peter Cave

Scholars, Dreamers and Sages Who Can Teach Us How to Live

How to Make Tomorrow Better Today

18 min

4.3

When You're Ready, This Is How You Heal

Brianna Wiest

Inspiration to Begin Your Journey of True Transformation

Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life

23 min

4.4

How to Be Your Own Therapist

Owen O'Kane

Boost Your Mood and Reduce Your Anxiety in 10 Minutes a Day

19 min

4.4

The Gap and the Gain

Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy

The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success

20 min

4.6

Waking the Tiger

Peter A. Levine with Ann Frederick

Healing Trauma

14 min

4.2

Man’s Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl

The harrowing experiences of the author in a concentration camp

17 min

4.4

Do Breathe

Michael Townsend Williams

Calm Your Mind. Find Focus. Get Stuff Done.

366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature

30 min

4.5

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Intuition or deliberation? Where you can (and can't) trust your brain

The history and core principles of the Eastern philosophy of Zen

23 min

4.5

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Shunryu Suzuki

Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

Future-Proof Your Career and Craft a Life Worthy of You

Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

28 min

4.2

Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

Stephanie M. Kriesberg

Quiet the Critical Voice in Your Head, Heal Self-Doubt, and Live the Life You Deserve

16 min

4.6

Smart Women Finish Rich

David Bach

A Proven Roadmap to Financial Security & Living the Life You Want

Winning the Heart of the Woman of Your Dreams

16 min

3.9

Nonviolent Communication

Marshall B. Rosenberg

A Language of Life

24 min

4.5

Time and How to Spend It

James Wallman

The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days

24 min

4.3

Relentless Solution Focus

Jason Selk and Ellen Reed

Train Your Mind to Conquer Stress, Pressure, and Underperformance

Six Steps to Unlock Your True Motivation, Harness Your Willpower, and Get Out of Your Own Way

The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth

20 min

2.9

How to Be an Adult in Relationships

David Richo

The Five Keys to Mindful Loving

Changing Habits for Good Using Self-Compassion and Understanding

Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior

31 min

4.3

❤️ für Blinkist️️️

Ines S.

Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.

Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.

Ekaterina S.

Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll

Nils S.

Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.

Julia P.

Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.