Whenever I would travel as a kid, I had this obsession with making my suitcase as light as possible. I thought of it as an act of manliness: taking too many clothes was for girls; boys carried only what was strictly needed. Although not traveling with unnecessary stuff is in general good advice, the reality is that I spent way too much precious time (as I always packed at the last minute) trying to decide which pieces of clothing were essential, and many times I ended up underestimating my clothing needs.
People want to work at Morgan Stanley or McKinsey because our brains are wired to value status over even happiness. A young person can anticipating being able to "wear" the status of being a McKinsey Man for the rest of his career, even if he is only asked about it occasionally.
Status has clear utility for all the other basic motivations that people have, and so the cost of procuring it (100-hour-weeks, constant business travel, PPT hell, up-or-out pressure, alienation from the work, potential moral injury) is worth it. The McKinsey Man is unlikely to ever want for income, job prospects, romantic partners, or flattering bios. This reward *may* even be worth future risks: divorce, alienation from children, deteriorating health, ennui, guilt, etc.
In light of this, do you try to pack efficiently to impress the gate worker, really? Or could it be because of the addictive feeling of savvy that confers... status? Of being one of those business travelers effortlessly clicking through their airport routine like George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air?" Not one of those common rubes sweating under a bag they overpacked and underground the publish shaming of justifying it's sinful girth!
People want to work at Morgan Stanley or McKinsey because our brains are wired to value status over even happiness. A young person can anticipating being able to "wear" the status of being a McKinsey Man for the rest of his career, even if he is only asked about it occasionally.
Status has clear utility for all the other basic motivations that people have, and so the cost of procuring it (100-hour-weeks, constant business travel, PPT hell, up-or-out pressure, alienation from the work, potential moral injury) is worth it. The McKinsey Man is unlikely to ever want for income, job prospects, romantic partners, or flattering bios. This reward *may* even be worth future risks: divorce, alienation from children, deteriorating health, ennui, guilt, etc.
In light of this, do you try to pack efficiently to impress the gate worker, really? Or could it be because of the addictive feeling of savvy that confers... status? Of being one of those business travelers effortlessly clicking through their airport routine like George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air?" Not one of those common rubes sweating under a bag they overpacked and underground the publish shaming of justifying it's sinful girth!