Zoolander and the Meaning of Life
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We all live in a world of perceptions. Though I didn’t watch much MTV, I’m a card-carrying member of the generation that borrows it’s namesake. Further, I “grew up” on the Internet through high school and college, where the concept of online reputation has grown in importance to the point where the web set obsesses over it.
We’re barraged every day by messages telling us what to be, how to look, and how to live. Mass media and peer pressure insists we wear certain clothes, buy certain brands, and act in certain ways to be accepted. In online terms, article after article shows and tells us what to do online to build your image and reputation: produce a certain amount/quality of content, and even to use certain “cool” web sites and have social profiles that tout not only your business acumen but show that you can party like a rockstar.
With this barrage comes the fear that you don’t look good and that others see right through you, but as Derek Zoolander asks:
I wonder if there’s more to life than being really really, ridiculously good looking?
It’s easy to lose sight of the fundamentals in life when you’re living on the inside of a digital bubble. Life is more than how people perceive you.
Integrity
“Looking good” won’t gain you respect when faced with a difficult decision. The decision or stance you take might not be popular in the moment, but those whose opinion matters will respect you in the long run. Integrity isn’t a badge you slap on yourself and suddenly have. Integrity is a character trait you have as a result of being truthful in a situation even when it doesn’t benefit you, and by living a life where your actions line up with your words and your stated beliefs.
Relationships
“And what about those shoes you’re in today
They’ll do no good
On the bridges you burnt along the way”
– Jack Johnson, “Gone”
“Looking good” and being successful won’t gain you fulfillment without rich relationships and people to share your life with. The most important of these people are family; spouses and children, parents and lifelong friends. Also are those in your areas of influence including church groups, hobbies, civic activities, and your professional network with whom you have a strong connection. Even if you are really really ridiculously good looking–either financially speaking or with a glowing career, it won’t mean much without the love and friendship of others.