It’s no secret that people put a lot of their identity and self-worth into things that, at the end of the day, are trivial and ultimately don’t matter.
When I think of people who put too much of their self-worth into trivial things, I tend to think of sports fans, political junkies and careerists. The psychology behind this is interesting, but is ultimately harmful to people in the long run.
As a huge sports fan myself, I best understand the psychology of sports fanatics. I see this most often with teams themselves, whether it be at the college or professional level.
I’ve written before about the negative health effects of sports obsession, and my opinion still stands firm. People, myself included, get really invested in their favorite sports team, going so far as to dress up in full uniforms and painting themselves in team colors.
Nothing is inherently wrong with this, but when team performance starts to dictate your mood on a constant occasion, then it becomes a problem.
According to The Seattle Times, sports fans tend to have higher self-esteem, but at the cost of potentially immediate negative consequences depending on team performance.
The realm of politics has a similar affect on people as well.
Political fandom can show in a variety of ways, such as heated debates that break the bounds of civility, becoming overjoyed or depressed if a candidate wins or loses and changing lifestyle decisions to fit a particular mold.
Contentious debates are a common feature associated with political obsession. There’s a reason why people tend to shy away from discussing politics and religion.
When something as important as government is up for debate, emotions can run high. However, people like to label themselves under a certain set of loosely-defined beliefs, such as Republican or Democrat.
I’m no fan of the two-party system, and it pains me to see people self-identify with political parties so much.
Granted, it’s a mental shortcut to quickly understand someone’s core beliefs, but political parties cause people to see others more like a collective and not as individuals.
It’s normal to be upset when a preferred candidate loses a tight election, but at least in the case of the United States, it isn’t the end of the world. Some people tend to lose sight of this.
A commonality among many political arguments is that people take arguments against their political positions as personal attacks because they invest so much of their identity into it. I believe this is why political discussions tend to lose civility.
Your political ideology or affiliation doesn’t define who you are as a person and disagreements with your views shouldn’t be taken as personal insults.
More common than obsessions with sports and politics, in my mind, are obsessions over careers and professions.
When it comes to careers, people like to put a lot of their own value into how prestigious their job is or how much money they bring home. Without a career, some people think that their life has no purpose.
As human beings, no matter if you’re a dump truck driver or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, we all have intrinsic value that is not defined by what our livelihood is.
We should always strive to do better and never grow complacent in life, but there is more tolife than work
It’s one thing to be proud of what you do, but it’s another thing to think of yourself or others solely based on a line of work.
I see all of this as a growing issue in today’s society. I’m not saying that supporting a sports team, getting involved in politics or being proud of your work is a bad thing, but putting all of your self-worth or identity into these things is harmful to your own mental health.
Appreciate all of the small things in life; don’t take anything for granted. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings.
