I’m an ambitious person. I have a lot I want to accomplish. I learned from the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, that in order to be effective you need to put first things first. In short, you need to prioritize. I’ve seen a lot of people prioritize the wrong things, things that are destructive, like alcohol or drugs, things that add no value to their lives, like going out to eat twice a week, things that would be better left undone. However, there is one particular thing that I believe should be at the bottom of your list of priorities. How you rank in society, your social status should be your last priority.

Your status is defined as your social standing, how do you compare to others and how does my life look to others, materially?  Do you have the nicer car? Are you ‘better’ than them? Are you in the top one percent? Do your clothes reflect the newest styles? Although it is not wrong to have any of these things it is wrong to pursue social success to impress others or make yourself feel superior.

Making your life genuinely better has very little if anything to do with how you compare to others. We have around 60,000 thoughts per day. And spending any fraction of those thoughts worrying about how you compare to others is a waste of your time. Your social status is a superficial exterior. How many people do you know that appear fine on the outside but are filled with self-doubt? People who flaunt their status are focused on the neverending rat race of comparison. They find their identities in how others envy them. But not everyone envies them, which constantly leaves them dissatisfied.

One of my favorite examples of someone who kept their social status as the last priority but become one of the most successful people of-of all time is Warren Buffet. He is the second richest man in the world with a net worth of over 74 billion. However, you would never know he was rich from his lifestyle. The billionaire lives in a five-bedroom home in Omaha, Nebraska, he purchased in 1958 for 31,500. He never spends more than $3.17 on breakfast and drives a used cars. Because he places his social status as the last priority he is able to live a much freer and happier lifestyle.

The things that should be prioritized over your social status is how you view yourself. Are you in touch with who you are?  What things do you find valuable, as opposed to what do others find impressive? Are you able to accept yourself, are you happy with who you are? Are you becoming the person you want to be? Who is the person you want to be? What is your love language? Does having better things than someone really make you happy?  Know who you are, instead of how you compare to others.

I encourage you to analyze why you focusing on your social status. Is there an opinion you are afraid of? A standard you feel obligated to live up to? Pleasing everyone is impossible. Realize that what is right for others may not be right for you. Social status is a never-ending cycle, better to break the cycle now than continue it.

Leaving the drive to impress others through your social status means you can be you. You can throw out the clothes you’ll never wear again, the food, dishes, sheets, towels, furniture you don’t really need, the opinions that eventually won’t matter to anyone. Once you give up catering to your social status, you will find out who you are, and that freedom will be like taking a breath for the first time. Prioritize yourself first, and keep your social status as the last priority.