You'll Agree with Everything in "The Good Enough Job," But Probably Won't Change

This book, which had been published in May 2023, is resonating. That's "The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work" by Simone Stolzoff. On Amazon it ranks high at 16,974 and has received more than 700 customer reviews.

Essentially its message is two-fold:

1) You are probably, if an American, controlled by workism. That is making how you earn your living control your values and actual sense of self.

2) Despite that, you still expect money and inner fulfillment to merge smoothly into the seamless entity which is you. Instead, the odds are that you will experience conflict, both external and internal. 

Stolzoff argues persuasively how the lines between work and everything else have blurred. She documents how some employers such as Google help that along by making being at work fullfill most needs ranging from a sense of belonging to doing satisfying work to enjoying creature comforts on-site.

I would add that even a remote worker can experience that same pull force toward existing primarily in a work bubble. 

Before you even get to Chapter 3 "The Love of Labor," it is likely that you could be in total agreement with Stolzoff on at least two things:

1) Most jobs will be a good fit for you and, no, you don't have to chase your dream job which probably demands long hours and is a force field of intense stress.

2) You have to get a life byond work. 

But, it is unlikely that you will follow up on your commitment to be "reclaiming life from work." As a coach, I haven't yet counseled a client who was able to lower significantly the work vibration. The satisfactions - be they concreate such as money or psychic such as status - are too wonderful. Also, those clients have jumped through plenty of hoops to get where they are. Usually all they want out of coaching sessions is to develop better coping skills for their worlds as they are. 

Still, it is useful for you to read "The Good Enough Job." Perhaps the message won't trigger action today. But it could help you navigate the time when you finish your peak earning years or enter semiretirement - or lose relationships, your health and more because of the workism.

Limiting beliefs? Self-defeating? Stuck? Complimentary consultation with Coach Jane Genova (text/phone 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com)