Are we all over-impressed by wealth, fame and status?

[BaitandSwitch]

It’s an interesting one (to me!). We met up with a dear friend the other evening who is great in so many ways; but she does talk about other people and how much wealth/big houses/successful businesses they have. She has tenuous connections to some of these people, eg one man is a multi-millionaire of a well-known shop chain who is a mate of her son in law. Similarly, my sister in law is always mentioning her friends’ credentials eg so-and-so has a Phd … so-and-so is a producer for the BBC …

Thinking about this further, I suggest most of us are in the grip of CAWS – being impressed by other people either because they are or they embody: Celebrities, Achievers, Wealthy or Status. But I do like to think, when I talk about other people, I zoom in on their great qualities that are nothing to do with CAWS - eg how kind/generous they are, how talented they are, how good they are with other people ...

I start to feel we’re quite dull in comparison (hey, my friend BaitandSwitch, she lives in a fantastic semi detached, got a marvellous 2:2 and has a wonderful middle ranking job …) but why do we do it?

I’m going to watch myself from now on, especially as my husband says I do it ‘a bit’. Does anyone else have CAWS tendencies?

No, I can't say I do. But my job is a great leveller, and allows me to see the good in the vast majority of people I come into contact with, regardless of whether they are on minimum wage or are a millionaire. Their bank balance is irrelevant to me.

Yes we're all mostly intrigued by people who have different lives mostly wealthy... people have written about the wealthy for eons

In normal life, most "wealthy" looking people aren't wealthy at all. It's all borrowed money whether they're mortgaged to the hilt, cars on leases, bank loans for holidays, credit cards maxed out etc. They are just attention seeking by pretending to be wealthy.

The "real" wealthy tend not to go for the image - they're the ones with a modest house, average aged car, etc., but it's theirs and all paid for. They're the ones who have self-confidence and don't care as much about appearances.

My experiences anyway.

Most of my adult life has been spent around CAWS at work, and to a certain extent in our personal lives, so although I might remark on someone's achievements, I don't particularly feel inferior - these people are still doing a job and still face a lot of day to day issues. Many of them face many more than I do, and for that, I'm thankful. I'd hate to be famous, or live a life constantly under immense pressure, so I'm grateful for my comfortable little life, occasionally dipping my toe in the glamour of the CAWS around me.

Has there been another thread on this very recently? The OP seems incredibly familiar - unless I'm back to my old tricks of deja vu.

Anyway, I'm not impressed by wealth or status, and never have been. Brains, on the other hand... I think it's probably because I was brought up with intelligence and character considered the most important and desirable things.

Guilty as charged, Utterly! I posted again as received no response to the original posting.

Aha- I thought I remembered reading it! I thought it was an interesting post, but when I went back to it, I couldn't find it again and thought I'd probably made it up

I once read that the secret to happiness was loving what you have and it changed my life. I was inclined to moan about life out of habit and think the grass was always greener.
In the last few years I’ve come to really love my life and my home. I don’t begrudge others their wealth or their success but most of the time I secretly think I have it better.
My friend has recently moved into a huge house and it’s lovely but my first thought was that it would take ages to hoover. She has an enormous playroom in the basement and a whole room upstairs just for laundry. I fold mine at the kitchen table chatting with the dc or watching them in the back garden.
I treasure my privacy and love being able to do ordinary things without being noticed. I was rummaging in a charity shop the other day when one of the workers recognized a minor tv celebrity. Cue taking of photos while she fretted about her hair being sweaty after a run, and a discussion after she left “fancy someone like her shopping in a charity shop”.
No one cares what I wear, if I’ve put on weight or expects me to be lavishly generous. I’m not judging anyone who wants to live this sort of life but I’m genuinely puzzled about why I should envy it.

I'm not at all impressed by CAWS. Some people have worked really hard for what they have but some have inherited and some have just been lucky.

I know someone who is very wealthy (and worked for it) but doesn't show it at all. They go on a few holidays a year but other than that you wouldn't really know. They say that everyone has to poo and everyone ends up in a box or an urn so they don't make it look like they are better than anyone else because they are not.