This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

Hey, gang, it might be tempting to think of status as something that only eighth graders are obsessed with, but status is a fundamental human drive that permeates all aspects of life.

And it's really not something any of us can afford to ignore.

And just to say, status has become increasingly salient in our lives because of social media, where we're actively encouraged to count our likes and followers.

There are real psychological and physiological implications here.

High status often correlates with greater access to resources, better health care, reduced stress, and lower risk of chronic diseases.

Conversely, low status can increase stress anxiety and susceptibility to health problems.

So it's a big issue.

And today, we're going to talk about what exactly status is, why it matters, and how to get

it without driving yourself nuts.

My guest is Will Storr, the author of six critically acclaimed books.

This interview focuses on two of his books.

We'll spend a lot of time talking about his book, The Status Game,

but we will start with his latest book, which is called A Story is a Deal,

which is all about another fundamental human drive, narrative,

and how to use narrative or storytelling to your advantage, both at work and in your personal life.

So this is a fascinating and varied conversation.

We hit the key elements of a properly deployed story, the different ways to measure status,

the three main ways humans compete for status, the benefits of altruism as a source of status, which I found very interesting,

the balance between self-interest and altruism, how mindfulness factors into the status drive,

and how to manage your relationship with social media.

Just to say, I discovered Will Storr, as a result of his appearance on the Waking Up app,

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