Success, sexiness, seven-year-itch...

Success, sexiness, seven-year-itch...

A friend writes that being successful makes you sexy. Shallow? Maybe not. I guess it's a manifestation of being attracted to security - the good provider. In prehistory that would have meant the strongest (physically and, possibly, as a leader). Aggression would have been a by-product or perhaps a substitute for bravery, but it certainly has no place in the modern world. Bravery, though, takes many forms and can be practised by anyone and it can lead to success as well.

Today success might mean just being good at your job, or maybe sport, or just being popular. I wonder if it matters what your job is? Perhaps so. Certainly it would be hard to appear attractive if you're struggling with the basics of living - job, bills, personal grooming, transport, etc. Unpopularity also counts against you.. mostly.

I don't think you need to be Richard Branson, although some elements of his success can be copied by anyone, but it's fair enough that people considering you as a potential mate would expect you to get your "s" in a pile.

That is what makes TV characters like Cracker and Rake so intriguing, as well as but in a less extreme way for Laura Gibson (Seachange) and Rafferty (Rafferty's Rules). Undeniably brilliant at their jobs and passionate, but fatally flawed in their relationships and their personal everyday life details. They all make us connect and laugh because we love the ironic tragedy. Cracker and Rake, in particular, forge on to their own dooms in full knowledge and with middle finger raised at the world. They just can't help it and we can't help watching.

I'm think about this while considering the Peter Principle(?), where staff get promoted as a reward for doing well and then get stuck when they reach a job or level where their performance no longer stands out. "People get promoted to their own level of incompetence." This generally takes around 5 to 7 years. At that point they are no longer "successful" because they are no longer doing something they are good at and, probably, they are frustrated as well. I wonder if this explains the well-known 7 year itch in relationships? Maybe.