Complacency is underrated

Earlier this week, a video came across my LinkedIn feed with a caption so clickbaity, I’m almost ashamed to admit that it stopped me in my tracks.

But first, I want to remind you about Snail Mail Summer! Starting in June, I’m doing three special print editions of Wishful Working. To get all three missives, the sign-up deadline is June 1! Sign up here.

Okay, here’s the clickbaity claim on the LinkedIn video: $150-$250k income is a trap.

Although I knew he was inevitably trying to sell something with this hook, I was intrigued.

In retrospect, I should not have been surprised by his AI-generated script with claims that making a low-to-mid six-figure income “feels like success, but it’s not freedom,” and the way to achieve freedom is to simply buy and operate a bunch of short term rental properties! Duh! Oh, and buy his TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLAR course to learn how!

(Side note: Do you ever think, ‘Damn, if I had no morals, I could be a really good grifter’? Meanwhile, I can’t even share casual freelance advice without making a thousand caveats about my personal situation and the privileges that might make it difficult to replicate my success. 🙃)

Now, I know it’s not worth sparing a second thought for LinkedIn bro fraudsters and their scams. Block and move on is the best approach to keep this garbage off your feed (though it feels like a losing battle). But before I got out of there, I had to see if there were any sane comments calling him out on his bullshit or if everyone was just commenting “freedom” to learn more.

I appreciated this counterpoint:

And then I saw the author’s reply. 🙄

It was then that I decided to move on. 

But obviously, I haven’t.

Michael’s ability to sell overpriced courses to desperate people depends directly on their discontentment, dissatisfaction, striving, and comparison. In order to stoke those feelings, he needs to rebrand contentment as complacency. 

Truthfully, I don’t really know if Michael even believes what he’s saying or if he’s just committed to the grift.

But I do know that contentment (or “complacency”) is actually a secret super power. It allows you to stop hustling. It helps you appreciate what you have. And it makes you immune to grifters who aim to profit off of your insatiable desire for more. 

Contentment also insulates you from entire industries that exploit discontentment to extract consumers’ hard-earned dollars: beauty, fashion, fitness, self-help. The entire concept of advertising relies heavily on the idea that you’re missing something important, and [insert product here] will fill the void.

I reject the idea that more is better, especially when it comes to income. Of course, we want to make enough to cover our bills and basic needs, but money should be a means to an end, not the entire goal.

I also reject the idea that we must be making ever more money, constantly chasing raises and promotions and a higher salary with each new job. For freelancers, I reject the idea that success requires scaling or eventually consulting instead of implementing. 

The world needs more people who are satisfied, grateful, and “complacent.”

(And the world certainly doesn’t need more people turning houses into Airbnbs.)

See you next week,

Kara

What I do when I’m not at my desk

Kara Detwiller is a writer and creative based in small-town Saskatchewan. She specializes in long-form content writing for enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients. She is also working on her first novel, among other creative pursuits. To connect, reply to this email or find Kara on LinkedIn.

Why Wishful Working? I want to help people thrive in a world obsessed with work and productivity. Together, we’re expanding the definition of productivity, rediscovering life balance, and exploring the many kinds of work that make life possible.