The Only Way is Up?

This post is about expectations (and now that I wrote the title, I can't get the Eurythmics song out of my head).

I've mentioned some "happiness" studies in previous posts that find that the unhappiest people live in unequal societies. Poor people in poor societies can be surprisingly content with life. A rich man's Porsche parked outside his penthouse flat does not constantly remind one of what one does not have, at least in material benefits. Poor people in rich countries are more unstable (think criminality rates, riots a la UK from last year, etc). Psychologically, I think a lot of this has to do with expectations - and most importantly, hope. Socio-economically, it has to do with mobility. If a poor person expects to have the Porsche and penthouse, and doesn't, the gap in expectations and reality results in discontent. Why him, and not me? If a poor person is granted the opportunity (i.e. hope) to work towards his expectations, he may feel happier: a one-step-at-a-time-towards-that-Porsche-happiness.

But what about people who start out relatively far at the top? Is the only way to go up? I have been thinking about this due to my own situation, as well as while reading Michelle Obama's biography. To start with the latter: After Princeton and Harvard, and an initial stint at a law firm, both Michelle and Obama take conscious steps to work in what they feel is right (civil society movements, community projects), at each career step not moving "up" (neither status nor salary wise) but down.

It takes a lot of guts to do so. I've always thought of my life trajectory as moving upwards. A great international school, a masters degree in a renowned university, jobs in some big-name institutions. If I would study again, I would want to study in: Harvard. If I would work again, I would want to work in: an institution everyone knows by name. And here's why I struggle: my expectations (and current mobility) are at such a mismatch to my reality.

It's time to change. Either my expectations or my position. The prior is what really requires guts. It requires a new perspective, where "down" and "up" no longer matter.