Knowing one's station in life

Bretrick said:
You do not and have never gotten your hands dirty, you have never sweated or toiled for 10 hours a day, only to collapse from exhaustion when arriving home.
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I too used to "sweat and toil" for 10 hours a day doing manual labor, but in my case, after work we'd we'd go out and get drunk. The next day, we'd sweat off the hangover and do it all over again! šŸ¤£

That was when I was in my early 20s. By my late 20s, it had started to take its toll on my body and I started thinking that I didn't want to be living that lifestyle when I was in my 40s, if I lasted that long. That's when I decided to go to college.

It took me a while to adjust to office work. Hangovers are much worse when you're working in an office. You don't sweat it out of your system. You just sit there and try to function until quitting time. That's when you "collapse from exhaustion" upon arriving home!
 
Della said:
As soon as I saw the thread title I knew it must have been written by someone other than an American. "Station in life?" We don't have stations, just people born poor or born middle class or born rich and where they are now has to do with how hard they tried, or misfortune, or inheritance or health.
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Here in the U.S., we have a "lot in life" -- not a "station in life."
 

Many people are ambitious and want better things in life so they are willing to put a lot of effort into achieving their goals. I can understand working toward a life that is worry-free of financial issues, but what I donā€™t understand is people that want bigger better things ā€“ bigger house, more expensive cars, exotic vacations just for social acceptance and feeling they are now better than others. In my opinion, no one is above anyone else ā€“ some may have better education, better opportunites, but we are all necessary and need to work together. Every job is important.
 
There is nothing wrong with ambition and striving to have a successful career, I pushed myself in that pursuit for many years.

However, the most important thing is following your heart and doing what makes you truly happy. If that means living a self sustaining off grid and simple life, or perhaps a librarian, maybe a circus performer?, then that is what you should strive for.

It is counter productive to your health and mental well being to "succeed" in a high paying or perceived high status job that puts you under too much stress and limits your creativity and choices, just because society says that should be your life goal. Perhaps that's a major part of the reason many people seem to have lost character, morality, and plain decency?
 
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Aunt Bea said:
My working life was never about status or prestige, it was about money.

I quickly realized that many of my superiors didnā€™t seem to possess any amazing skill or ability that justified their significantly higher salary.

I did my best to learn how to play the game and gradually work my way up the ladder so I could trade my time for as much money as possible.

For me, working for money was always an unnatural and terribly uncomfortable part of my life. šŸ˜‰šŸ¤­šŸ˜‚
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I think you can do both. I made it my motto to always support my staff, and tell them so. My words were, "there is always a way to fix a mistake, tell me what happened and we will work together to fix it." Once I was pressed by a superior to give a name of my staff member who was responsibe. That was an easy one, "it was me" I lived by that in all my years, and I had staff that walk through walls for me.

I never felt any guilt when I cashed a bonus check, I set my sights high and cashed some nice ones.
 
Rider77 said:
I think you can do both. I made it my motto to always support my staff, and tell them so. My words were, "there is always a way to fix a mistake, tell me what happened and we will work together to fix it." Once I was pressed by a superior to give a name of my staff member who was responsibe. That was an easy one, "it was me" I lived by that in all my years, and I had staff that walk through walls for me.

I never felt any guilt when I cashed a bonus check, I set my sights high and cashed some nice ones.
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I wish you'd been MY boss a time or 2...
 
I don't see anything wrong with trying to better your station in life. I worked hard to support my kids, as a single mother, and give them things I never had. I don't feel guilty about that.

I also never look down on anyone else for where they are, nor do I revere the uber rich. We all have our own journey in life.

I always found it better to be happy for my blessings as much as I could. šŸŒ¹
 
outlander said:
The sad fact is most people judge others by what they own or what they do for a living. That has nothing to do with the true value of a person. This occurs because society brainwashes people to believe they must achieve a certain standard of living or they are not normal and cannot be happy.

I feel very fortunate to have experienced many "stations in life". I have struggled to make ends meet, been considered middle class, and owned a very successful small business. Strangely I now choose to live a very frugal life even though I don't need to. I think it is because I find little value or pleasure in "acquiring" things without proper need to justify the expense. Being a minimalist is like a challenge that brings satisfaction and peace into my life, things that having lots if money never could.

I judge people by what they do and how they act, their station in life is of little consequence to me. I have very few friends because I find almost all people are consumed by the rat race, something I find unpleasant and almost intolerable.
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Re: your first statement.. of everywhere I've been/lived in the U.S., this one region is the only place I've ever encountered it- their belief/approach that the value of a human being is based on how much money or 'stuff' an individual owns. I also duly noted when individuals take this approach, they didn't come by what they have honestly.
 
Rider77 said:
More to the subject, what in the world is a station in life? I've heard and agree with the thought not to forget where you came from. I respect humility, but I firmly believe that one who looks down on others will get hurt when they lose their balance. A good life must have balance.
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I was confused with that phrase, also. Here is an AI generated description...

A person's "station in life" refers to their social standing, rank, or position within society. It is determined by various factors including:
  • Socioeconomic status: Wealth, income, and overall economic resources.
  • Social class: Ranking in a hierarchy, often categorized as upper, middle, or lower class.
  • Occupation and education: Oneā€™s professional role and level of academic achievement.
  • Other demographic factors: Age, marital status, and family background.

Common Usage
While the phrase is considered somewhat dated or formal today, it often appears in specific contexts:
  • "Knowing one's station": Accepting one's current rank and not attempting to "usurp" the authority of those in higher positions.
  • "Marrying above/below one's station": Marrying someone of a significantly different social class.
  • "Ideas above one's station": An idiom used to describe someone who thinks they are more important than they actually are or attempts to rise above their social class.
It's similar to "lot in life," but there are differences...

lot-vs-station.jpg
 
Most people experience ups and downs in the financial, emotional, health and relationship throughout a lifetime. It's rare to have all of those aspects of life line up as in the best or worst place at the same time.

Bitterness toward others for being in a peak when you're in a valley neither erodes their position nor elevates your own. Resentment only succeeds in making the complainers look small and mean. Puts me in mind of that old refrigerator magnet, "God if you can't make me skinny please make my friends fat!"

Over the years I've had friends with boatloads of money and others with barely two nickels to rub together. I've loved them all.

Me? I grew up semi-rich and make no apologies for that. Accident of birth. My father, the son of poor immigrants, was a self-made executive in high demand, and he therefore commanded a high salary.

However, money doesn't guarantee a childhood that's an endless parade of sunshine and lollipops, and mine sure wasn't.

Same is true for adulthood.

My wealthiest friend was a trust fund baby worth many millions even when we first met in the early 80s. She's among of the kindest, gentlest, most generous people I've ever met. I'm sad to say she's now in the early stages of Alzheimer's in her mid-70s.

Few people get it all, and nobody gets it all for their entire lives.
 
This book is an eye-opening experience.. originally published in Jan. 1959, other than specs about salaries, cost of living, etc., it's as relevant and accurate now as it was back then.

From my wide range of experiences, class differences are more about lifestyle differences than about a person's job or income.. and lifestyle differences are HUGE. vp.jpg

(This book is still available on Amazon, etc.)
 
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