Sustainable status accrual helps avoid toxic behavior.

To avoid devolving into toxicity, there are a few things to attend to. As status is a primitive need, a hierarchy of sources filling it is beneficial. One should have a primary way of getting the needed satisfaction, but should also have a variety of secondary/tertiary approaches. Investing in just one will disappoint when it tapers off eventually, or if it’s only intermittent. On a shorter time horizon, when feeling down, look for small moments of prestige. Find some small wins. Do not use social media as a source of status. Relatedly, connection and empathy cure shame.rM1


  1. Brett & Kate McKay, “Podcast #756: How the Desire for Status Explains (Pretty Much) Everything,” The Art of Manliness (blog), November 15, 2021, https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/podcast-756-how-the-desire-for-status-explains-pretty-much-everything/. (See notes.)