High Value has become an incredibly ubiquitous, persuasive term, made famous by the virtual tidal wave that is social media, especially in 2024.

I didn’t overthink it when the term first started making the rounds. It’s intriguing in its own way. Especially when applied to people, and even more entertaining when applied as a strategy for choosing a mate.

But given the sheer force of the current cultural change taking place in this generation’s dating and mating behaviour (e.g., the gender wars, the positive case made for the child-free lifestyle, and extreme hypergamy demonstrated by almost every young woman with an Instagram account), I thought it deserved some commentary. I believe it is important to contribute and keep alive some of the previous generations’ values and ideals regarding what are considered desirable traits to look for when building a family, community, and life in general.

By no means is what follows a judgmental opinion piece on everything wrong with the current definition of “high value” associated with money, expensive vacations, ambition, or good looks. That is certainly one version of the meaning of the term.

 It’s simply an invitation to begin to think about how we could contribute to the conversation taking place in what seems to be a somewhat extreme mental approach to relationship-building, lifestyle choices, and misplaced values with the so-called “kids of today,”  – Many of whom could very well be past the age of 18.

HOW CAN WE REIMAGINE HIGH-VALUE IN 2024

In our romantic partnerships.

Everyone’s relational needs vary, and what one person from one generation in a particular part of the world requires may vastly differ from someone else.

The overall message here, which could apply universally, is to take the time to consider how we want to feel over the long term with a certain individual, how we can enrich each other’s lives, and how we can encourage our growth as a couple. Do our values, mindsets, histories, and personalities truly align?

With this paradigm in mind, we can ride the highs and lows of long-term relationships with far more ease and empower ourselves with the right and most valued qualities for long-lasting love.

In our lifestyles and leisure time.

Designing a life that is truly right for you takes time, trial and error, and, eventually, focused effort and prioritization.

In our youth, with a general lack of life experience to rely on, we gravitate toward what our peers and the media dictate. There is also a lack of inhibition coupled with a drive to chase status and material success—and none of this is to be considered out of the ordinary. It’s simply a matter of coming of age.

As we grow and (hopefully) mature, valuable factors to consider when creating a lifestyle that contributes to the quality of your life could be a healthy work-life balance, easy access to friends and loved ones, bearable weather, and a community that promotes and enables a structured, healthy, safe, and self-improving lifestyle.

In our careers.

In our chosen work, once our financial goals are met, career characteristics to consider could be things like, again, a healthy work-life balance, challenging, engaging work, a self-dictated schedule, a team whose company you genuinely enjoy, or benefits customized to your needs.

In ourselves/mindsets.

I’m currently reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and a characteristic known as “base ” is described throughout the book. In the book, the word relates to behaviours, emotions, and thought patterns that are the most impulsive, and demonstrate the least amount of restraint, discipline and emotional control – Qualities such as jealousy, adultery, laziness, rudeness, and the shameless enjoyment of obvious pleasures and vices. I thought it was an excellent description. Is this where today’s word “basic” is most likely derived from?

In any case, it’s a great way to look at how we can work on “sophistication of spirit,” as I like to call it, continually evolving our mindsets, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to be as “high value” as possible.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope what you have read has somehow educated, informed, or inspired you.

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