๐ŸŽ€ benna ๐ŸŽ€๐ŸŽฉ pfp
๐ŸŽ€ benna ๐ŸŽ€๐ŸŽฉ
@benna
why i stopped being ambitious: i grew up *incredibly* ambitious to the point where i would put overwhelming amounts of pressure on myself to 'succeed', success for me at that time meaning Forbes 30 Under 30 and millionaire by late 20s / early 30s. I grew up in the era of Girl Boss feminism so it felt possible in the 2010s. ofc, life happened and none of that panned out the way i planned. that's fine! but unsurprisingly, the pressure made me miserable. after a period of intense burn out that actually prompted my move to Paris, i also totally abandoned the idea of 'ambitious' as being my primary and most attractive trait; i also no longer think that it is important in other people. 'ambition' as an attractive trait (to potential partners, to employers) is a product of capitalism. the fact that one's motivation to work, one's means of production, one's 'grit', is today considered one of the most important characteristics for the human condition, is perhaps one of the greatest psyops of the modern era.
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๐ŸŽ€ benna ๐ŸŽ€๐ŸŽฉ pfp
๐ŸŽ€ benna ๐ŸŽ€๐ŸŽฉ
@benna
a great fallacy and propaganda of capitalism is that we assume unambitious people are lazy, unmotivated, bottom-feeding leeches. that unambitious people don't want to work. it's true, i don't want to work. i don't want to work for companies whose pretty much sole purpose, regardless of 'company mission' BS, is to line the pockets of their already-wealthy investors. i *do* want to work for the advancement of culture, of aiding others to sharpen their critical sensibilities and not accept our current reality as 'the only way'. this is moneyless work, considered 'useless' in the eyes of capitalism, but only because capitalism needs people to accept the status quo without question in order to survive. i consider my new most important trait as stubbornness. Stubbornness to refuse capitalism as the 'only viable way', stubbornness to demand better and more from governments and employers, stubbornness to believe that nurturing a collective consciousness of the people can actually make a difference.
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Born pfp
Born
@unborninfinite
I think russell covers this well, though during his own cultural context nearly a century ago, but still very much relevant - in praise of idleness
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