Why …
… in a country with as much wealth as the United States of America
-- the envy of the world in its offerings
of opportunity and prosperity --
are so many so far from
realizing bona fide prosperity?
DISCLAIMER
This is NOT about
redistributing wealth from the 1% to the 99%.
And I am definitely
NOT running for political office!
Past focus has been narrower, asking:
Why are so many high school students not “Job-Ready” or
“College-Ready”?
and
Why are so many college students not “Career-Ready”?
But also …
Why, in such an advanced civilization,
are not more folks “LIFE-READY”?
Some of the answers may be the same. But the concept of “Prosperity” seemed to be
a more unifying theme with more degrees of freedom for exploration.
First, what do we mean by “Prosperity”?
I’m going to define “Prosperity” NOT in terms of accumulated
wealth – although it could be a significant component of prosperity in many
cases – but in terms of having a sense of CONTROL.
“… the most successful marines were those with a strong ‘internal locus of
control’ – a belief they could influence their destiny through the choices they
made.” Charles C. Krulak quoted in Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles
Duhigg, Random House, NY, 2016, p. 23
A person who has an intrinsic sense of control over his/her
individual circumstances and over the
major forces impacting those circumstances should, by all rights, feel a justifiable
sense of prosperity.
Donald
Trump – who owns at least 1% of America (by his personal account) – has both an
extrinsic and an intrinsic sense of CONTROL and prosperity. (Some of it may be justified and some of it
not!) Mother Theresa owned very little
and worked in deplorable circumstances.
But her immersion in her Mission to serve a Greater Good gave her a
sense of “manageability” akin to a sense of CONTROL.
Perhaps a sense of MISSION is at least as good as a sense of
control, and may be even better in many circumstances where great numbers of
things are essentially uncontrollable.
A sense of control for most of the rest of us remains
elusive much of the time.
It’s tempting to limit … and even keep decreasing … our
sphere of engagement until we have absolute control of everything within our
grasp … except, of course, for everything and anything outside that sphere of
engagement on which everything ELSE often depends!
Gaining
the upper hand in manipulating video games can give one a euphoric feeling of
control – even of superiority – that carries absolutely no water in the grand
scheme of things.
Perhaps the most utilitarian way to define base-line PROSPERITY
is this:
Wanting
only what you need,
needing only what is “Good for you”,
and having a more-than-reasonable
chance of attaining it.
In that sense, one probably CAN “Have it all!”
An obligatory component of prosperity is sustainability;
one can hardly feel genuinely “prosperous” without a reasonable sense of
continuing … perhaps even increasing … favorable circumstances. HOPE for a bright(er) future is an integral
part of a legitimate feeling of prosperity.
A sense of VALUE – of being valued – is important.
BELONGING is important.
If you are part of a “going enterprise” … be it family, church,
business, school, club, profession, etc. … you’ve got access to a breadth and
depth of resources that can add and continue to grow in value.
Finally, having the capacity and inclination to CONTRIBUTE to
the wellbeing of others, including time, energy, finances, goods and services,
is a measure of prosperity. Wealth of
any kind without generosity is a hollow and unfulfilling condition! Maybe that’s why MISSION is so
important.
So, we’ve defined PROSPERITY and established the importance
of CONTROL, but we haven’t yet answered the riddle: Why is PROSPERITY / CONTROL
so elusive?
Unfortunately, we can’t blame all of the shortfall on our parents, “The Government”,
teachers, coaches, the education system, the economy, the “Devil”, or some
far-fetched conspiracy theory.
We’ll explore the underlying factors further in future
blogs. In the interim, let’s look for – and
work like Ninjas on bringing to fruition – everything we CAN control, and it
will be amazing how much else becomes so much more manageable … not to mention
how eminently prosperous we can legitimately feel about it! If all else fails, take a moment out of your
stress-filled life and count your Blessings!
More “countables” are definitely on the way for the Ninja in you!! Quartermaster
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