Emerson argues that the value of an activity depends less on its social status than on whether it contributes to the direction of a person’s life. Work that appears humble or ordinary need not be beneath someone if it advances a meaningful aim. Conversely, something widely admired may have little value if it distracts from that direction.

Within Wealth, the statement reflects Emerson’s wider emphasis on independence of judgement and purposeful use of one’s abilities. He challenges conventional measures of importance, suggesting that prestige, wealth or reputation should not determine what a person considers worthwhile. The quotation does not imply that every personal preference is automatically valuable. Rather, it presents coherence between action and purpose as a more reliable standard than external recognition, encouraging attention to whether particular choices genuinely support the life one intends to build.