It's OK If Your Job Isn't Changing the World

Perhaps it's time for an expanded definition of change

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Gen Zers like me have grown up in a world filled with school shootings, racial and social injustice, and a climate crisis. We’ve grown up being told by our teachers, parents, politicians, and role models that it is up to our generation to fix all of that. According to a 2021 study, 83% of Gen Zers feel that their generation is under a lot of pressure to change the world.

For as long as I can remember, adults have instilled in me and my peers the idea that we are the future and that our jobs should reflect that ambition. But putting pressure on one generation to solve the world’s problems is not just unrealistic, it’s dangerous. 

This kind of pressure is contributing to an anxiety epidemic, with 42% of Gen Zers having a mental health diagnosis. When we internalize that it really is our job to fix massive, systemic issues, we also may believe that anything we are doing that isn’t working towards “creating a better future” is time wasted. With this pressure to make a difference, it is no wonder that we see that a quarter of Gen Zers feel emotionally distressed, a number two times higher than Millennials and Gen Xers. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Many of us want to change the world. In fact, 75% of us believe that our generation will change the world. But there must be an expanded idea of what changing the world looks like. 

I like to think that the work I’m doing as a coach, speaker, and mental health advocate is changing the world –  at least a little bit. 

But the truth is this is my part-time job. My full-time job is a little less earthshaking.

When I’m not speaking or coaching, I’m selling used clothes and shoes online. 

When COVID-19 hit in March of 2020, I was a freshman at Duke University. I was sent home from school and became unbearably bored. To entertain myself, I started going through my closet, Marie Kondo style. Instead of getting rid of what didn’t spark joy, though, I sold the items online. And I ended up making a significant profit. 

This activity was so much fun that I decided to turn it into a job. I started going to thrift stores, yard sales, and flea markets, and finding undervalued items to sell online. I’ve continued running this business all through college and now, having just graduated from college a few months ago, I have a garage filled with over a thousand pairs of shoes and 500 clothing items. I sell over 300 items a month and spend at least 30 hours a week sourcing, cleaning, listing, storing, packing, and shipping my items. And I earn a six-figure income doing that. 

But here’s where I struggle. I struggle with the fact that my reselling job isn’t “changing the world”. Yes, I am contributing to sustainable fashion, but I alone am making such a small difference. And reducing clothing waste isn’t my primary motivator for doing this job. 

I often ask myself why I spend so much of my time cleaning other people’s dirty sneakers when I could be doing something more impactful. Why do I spend hours at a time sorting through piles of ripped, stained, and soiled (not exaggerating) garments when I could be doing something that truly helps people?

Am I wasting my potential? 

If I’m supposed to be changing the world, then as a reseller, I am failing. 

Now, I want you to be honest with yourself for a minute. Do you think your job changes the world?

If you answered yes, that’s amazing. If you answered no, you are not alone. 

I was giving a keynote speech a few weeks ago and asked the audience to raise their hands if they thought their job changed the world. Fewer than half of the people put their hands up. This wasn’t surprising. Research shows that almost 20% of people think their job is completely useless. 

This is where a mindset shift is needed. This is where an expanded definition of “changing the world” would make a huge difference. 

What if instead of changing the world, the goal was to change someone’s world?

If you replace “the world” with “someone’s world” what changes for you?

When I rephrased my question to the audience and asked them to raise their hand if they thought their job changed someone’s world, all of the hands in the room shot up. That was a powerful display of how changing one word can make such a meaningful difference. 

If I think about my reselling job in terms of changing someone’s world, my job is undoubtedly world-changing. Whose world is it changing? It’s changing mine because doing this job makes me a happier person, helps me show up better in my relationships, and is a productive way to channel my anxiety disorder.  It changes my parents’ world because I’m able to support myself without their financial help. It changes my buyers’ worlds because many of them cannot afford to buy these items at full retail price. 

And if you’re a US size 7 and need some used (pre-loved as I like to call it) Nike Free Run Flyknit running shoes, I bet I could change your world too!

Changing the world, while a respectable and ambitious goal, may be overrated. I think it’s time for all of us to recognize that we don’t need to solve the climate crisis, cure cancer, or eradicate all injustices to have a world-changing impact. It is up to us to change someone’s world. 

Whose world are you going to change today?