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The Idea
A few days back I was watching one of the interviews of Kunal Shah.
Kunal Shah is a well-known entrepreneur in India.
He is the founder of 'Freecharge' and 'CRED'.
I found one of his lines in an interview so fascinating that I kept thinking about that for a few days.
He said- 'India is a status-driven country and not a wealth-driven country.'
It's really a powerful line.
Think about it, basically, he says most people in India are not wealth seeking but status-seeking.
What you think, how true is that?
I think it is damn true. I am sure you think the same.
Most people here believe in competition (unhealthy type) and less in collaboration.
People become sad or envious when a neighbor or peer or relative gets ahead in life.
We are not accustomed to celebrate other people's successes.
We don't hear lines such as 'I help you become rich, you help me become rich, let's all become wealthy'
But we have heard lines such as 'if I can't get it, you should also not get it'.
Status-seeking was extremely useful at earlier times when humans didn't have enough resources.
Competing with other people for status and power brought many benefits, including access to food, mates, resources, and the protection of other group members.
But status consideration is no longer critical for living a good life, but our brains developed a very high priority on social status.
Do you know why there is an extreme hype about Sarkari Naukri in India?
Yes, there are many reasons, but a core reason is the status-seeking mentality of people. People believe they can increase their status by getting a sarkari naukri.
The lavish marriages in India are another proof of status-seeking mentality. The bigger the marriage, the more the status.
A furniture company once did an interesting survey in India.
They found that people in India spend way more money in their living room than their bedroom or bathroom.
Again the reason perhaps is that most people want to showcase how much they have spent in decorating the living room.
Guests do not usually visit the bedroom or bathroom so it's ok to not decorate those that much.
The core reason taught to most of us is that other people must be happy with ourselves. Somehow in our lives, other people become more important than our individual personality.
Of course, we should care about other people's suggestions and advice but not at the cost of our own satisfaction and preferences.
I am sure at least the new generation of India is wealth-driven where people help each other to grow instead of becoming envious of each other.
Remember the quote by Rumi-
"What you seek is seeking you"
If you are status-seeking, you will never have enough, but if you are wealth-driven then you might live a worthwhile life and leave a legacy behind.
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