Trajectory Is More Important Than Position

Your starting point is not as important as your trajectory. Having an uphill trajectory is better than already being in a good place and not moving, especially if you did not earn your current position. This is true no matter how small the upwards trajectory is.

It is more impressive to have been poor in the past and earned your way to being wealthy, than to have been given an inheritance. Even if you are currently poor, it is more respectable to be working towards becoming wealthy, than to have been given money without trying or making no effort to improve.

What makes life meaningful is the clear realization that you are headed somewhere better than you are now. The journey is more meaningful than the destination. If you make your life a little bit better each week, then in a few years you'll be in a significantly better place than before, especially if you start young. By aiming at being better, you are choosing to adopt responsibility for living and being properly - making the the sacrifices needed - and avoiding resentment and bitterness.

Putting yourself through the process of moving towards something better gives you valuable experience that you would not have learned otherwise. This prepares you for future challenges that will inevitably come. You need to constantly work on the process to learn and improve, to balance between order and chaos in order to grow and be prepared for whatever is thrown at you.

References

1139 - Jordan Peterson - The Joe Rogan Experience