The New Self-Help

How to Find Meaning in a Job You Can’t Stand

Even if you hate your job, you can do it in a way that enhances your self-esteem

This story is part of The New Self-Help: 21 Books for a Better You in the 21st Century.

Most of us want to live purposefully, particularly when it comes to our work. Unfortunately, many workers feel they have very little freedom of choice once they enter the workforce. What’s more, we’re not used to the idea that the work we do will have a major impact on our capacity to be self-loving. And yet a life of purpose is essential for fostering self-esteem: taking responsibility for consciously creating goals, identifying the actions necessary to achieve them, making sure our behavior is in alignment with our goals, and paying attention to the outcome of our actions so that we see whether they are leading us where we want to go.

I’ve thought a lot about this in my work as a social activist, professor, and cultural critic. Work occupies much of our time. Yet, most workers cannot do the work that they love. The good news is that we can all enhance our capacity to live purposefully by learning how to experience satisfaction in whatever work we do. We find that satisfaction by giving any job total commitment.