How to Diversify Your Identity Beyond Your Ability to Produce Economic Returns

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For older listeners who want to make the kind of change you're suggesting, what's one thing they should do tomorrow to start? I like this question because there's a surprising demographic of people that I think my work and research has really resonated with. Especially folks who have maybe worked at the same company for 20, 30, 40 years. It can be equally as unnerving and nerve-wracking to leave a career and an identity that they've associated with their job so long.

One of the first things we learn about people is what they do for a living. But the link between work and identify has moved far beyond that, especially in certain industries, geographies, and cultures. Many of us put everything we have into our jobs, expecting our careers to fulfill us. Author Simone Stolzoff argues for a different approach. He wants us to find work that keeps us engaged and gives us the security we need, while still allowing us to define ourselves in other ways. Drawing on research and real-life stories, he explains what it means to have a "good enough" job, and why this shift in thinking could be good not just for individuals but also for teams and organizations. Stolzoff is the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work.