Recognize that status is a fundamental human need for feeling valued by others, and be compassionate towards yourself and others when this need feels threatened or in decline. Dismissing it as ‘just ego’ is damaging, as status drives significant human experiences and suffering.
Diversify your sources of status beyond a single domain (e.g., job, hobbies, volunteering, teaching) to ensure psychological well-being. This prevents vulnerability if one area declines and provides a broader sense of worth.
When trying to motivate or persuade, craft stories that are positive, optimistic, and present a clear vision of an incredible future. Avoid overly negative narratives or solely relying on data and facts, as these fail to inspire and can alienate your audience.
Before communicating, identify your audience’s existing self-story, values, and primary motivators. Tailor your narrative to resonate with their identity and create a feeling of identification.
To foster strong identification and connection, feature a relatable underdog protagonist or frame your collective journey as a struggle against odds. Vulnerability and shared struggle are powerful shortcuts to audience kinship.
Weave emotional peaks into your stories, whether for advertising, leadership, or personal communication. Emotional engagement leads to better recall and stronger influence, regardless of the specific emotion evoked.
Ensure your persuasive stories are absolutely simple and present a clear, visualizable end goal. This clarity helps rally people, motivates collective action, and makes the vision easy for everyone to grasp.
Periodically assess where and how you are measuring your status. If you’re fixated on a metric that’s causing pain or not performing well, consider other ways you offer value to yourself and others.
Engage in altruistic or virtue-based activities like volunteering, as doing good for others naturally provides status and a profound sense of internal well-being. Do not feel guilty for the positive feelings or external recognition that result.
Practice mindfulness to observe ego-driven urges (e.g., bragging, virtue signaling, dominating) without immediate reaction or self-judgment. This self-awareness allows for more deliberate and sane responses to status threats or desires.
While altruism is beneficial, be mindful of the ‘catastrophic altruism’ trap where you neglect your own needs by not asserting yourself enough. Ensure a balance between helping others and valuing your individual self.
Recognize that social media platforms are designed as ‘slot machines for status,’ exploiting your status detection system through unpredictable rewards (likes, retweets). Understanding this mechanism can help you detach from its addictive pull.
On social media, focus more on your own moral behavior and less on constantly judging others’ perceived moral flaws. This reduces unproductive criticism and the toxic pursuit of virtue-based status through attacking ideological enemies.
In political or ideological disagreements, actively seek to understand the ‘other side’s’ story and motivations, rather than immediately criticizing or demonizing them. This approach, though difficult, is essential for constructive dialogue and progress.
Refrain from humiliating others, especially publicly, as it strips them of status and is at the root of the worst human behaviors. When trying to persuade or gain allies, craft stories that affirm, rather than diminish, the audience’s status.