Book Review of ‘Drift to SHIFT’

In the self-help book From Drift to SHIFT: How Change Can Bring True Meaning and Happiness to Your Work and Life, author Jody B. Miller begins by asking the reader a lot of questions. “Why do we stay in professional and personal situations that we loathe?” or “Why are you in your current job and not in the career of your dreams?” These are the sort of questions people might ponder from time to time, but without much direction or resolution. This book offers guidance on how to find the answers to those questions with the hope of changing readers’ lives.

In typical genre fashion, the author illustrates the salient points of her “SHIFT” plan with stories, either personal experience or experiences of someone she knows. However, these are not your typical scratch-the-surface examples. Each chapter is rich in detail and reads more like a novel than a case study.

The book concludes with several posts from Miller’s blog. My favorite was “Meet Someone New Every Day: A 6-Day Experiment”. As a self-described curious person, Miller sets out to meet someone new every day for six days to “listen and learn”. All of the people she struck up conversations with responded in a friendly manner even though sometimes she puts her foot in her mouth. It does sound like a fun project, although definitely easier for natural extroverts to take on. Her final “Takeaway” from the six days is, “Happiness is about connecting with others.” That simple maxim truly is at the core of what human beings need.” – Lisa L.