Things in Life I Give Zero Shits

Here’s an unpopular op-ed piece: I have compiled a list of (seemingly important) things in life that I give zero importance. Well, at least for me.😉

1. Body Image

Ah… talk about first world problems. Did you know that 100 years ago, body image issues didn’t exist? (duh!) After all, the world was not as affluent, and humans were busy trying to survive and put food on the table. Now, in our rampant age of consumerism, commercialism, and social media, developing body insecurities seems like a rite of passage for everyone – whether that insecurity is height, weight, physique, figure, or the shape of your nose. But ask yourself this – how much does your physical attributes actually matter everyday? Unless you are a bikini model, fitness instructor, NBA hopeful, or a beauty pageant contestant, how does having ‘ideal’ or the ‘desirable’ body / physique ( whatever that may be) make a difference in your life? Will your life be 10 percent better if your thighs become 10 percent thinner?

2. Occupational prestige

Career. Income. Job Title, a.k.a. "status-markers". Yes, we instinctively tend to think that a doctor or a corporate lawyer is more venerable than say, a cashier, because they earn more and presumed to be more educated, hence they are higher up the societal ladder, correct? But did you know that tying a person’s worth to their job title or paycheck actually devalues a person? Humans do not come with a price tag or a label, and the concept of occupational prestige is a social construct designed to place people in a societal ‘pecking order’. But I’ve learned from personal experience, that more you detach your worth to those things, the happier you become, because you no longer feel the need to prove yourself to anyone. After all, if you are already living comfortably, do you really need a high-status, high-paying job? Don’t get me wrong - if you are ambitious and want these things, then go for it. But at the end of the day, no one really cares what you do for a living.

3. Alma matter

Alma matter refers to a person’s academic credentials – degrees, majors, GPA, where one went to school. This stuff may matter on resumes and professional online profiles, but rarely play any roles in developing personal relationships. I mean how many of you actually vet potential friends, partners, or spouses based on their GPA? Sounds kinda silly, doesn't it? More so, your credentials will matter less and less as you get more detached to your school years. Twenty years after you graduate from college ( that’s IF you went to college), you will see that your alma matter doesn’t really matter!

4. Sports

Ok, I admit that I do watch basketball. But in grand scheme of things, sports have zero importance in our lives. For vast majority of us, sports is nothing more than pure entertainment. Every premier sporting event – be it Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Superbowl, or World Series – is a major cash cow making money off your desire to see your favorite athletes win… or your most hated athlete get squashed. Enjoying sports is fine, but to get emotionally invested in it to the point of having stadium brawls, social media wars, and having a heart attack after your team loses – is just plain stupid. Most likely, the person / team you are rooting for doesn’t know you exist, so why get so emotionally charged over a group of people that you don’t know, and have no direct impact on your life?

5. Equal Pay Movement

Ok I’m going to catch a lot of flak here. Since I’m a female, I’m supposed to rally for equal pay for women, right? Bollocks. I’ll be honest by saying that I will not jump on the equal pay bandwagon. First, it’s a bunch of overdone cliché. Second, I truly believe that if someone makes more than you for the same job, regardless of their gender – THERE’S A REASON FOR THAT. I can think of gazillion reasons why males get paid more for certain type of occupations. But that’s a whole different topic for another day. The point is: if you’re constantly going to justify your pay by using someone else’s pay as a bar-o-meter, then you will never be satisfied, because there will always be someone making more than you. No two people are equal in terms of skills, qualifications, strengths, and experiences. So why is it important for your pay to match the next person’s?