By Ross Grossman, LMFT

The Panic Button

Everybody’s freaking out. “AI is coming for our jobs!” Relax. AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s coming for your neighbor’s job first. Then it’s coming for yours.

But here’s the twist: it’s not all bad news. Every technological shift feels like the end of the world—until we realize we still need plumbers, therapists, and comedians who can tell dick jokes about ChatGPT.

Step 1: Stop Marrying Your Job Title

If your identity is “I’m a data entry clerk,” you’re toast. Same with “I write SEO blogs about toenail fungus.” Those jobs are already being done by a laptop in Jakarta for half a sandwich.

Instead, think in terms of skills people actually want from you: Can you fix something? Can you connect with people? Can you make them laugh, cry, or at least not kill themselves on a Tuesday? That’s your value.

Step 2: Build a Human Moat

AI is smart, but it has the bedside manner of a Roomba. Humans still want:

• Empathy (therapists, teachers, bartenders).
• Hands-on skill (electricians, mechanics, surgeons—you know, the people who keep us from burning our houses down).
• Charisma (salespeople, comedians, that one uncle who can get a free dessert out of any waitress).

If your work depends on actual human connection, you’re safer than the guy whose only talent is filling out Excel sheets.

Step 3: Get Uncomfortable On Purpose

Here’s the therapy part without the jargon: If you can’t deal with discomfort, you’re screwed. Change is coming. Might as well practice. Take a cold shower. Learn pickleball. Go on a date with someone who “doesn’t drink.” If you can survive those, you can survive AI.

Step 4: Don’t Do This Alone

During upheaval, people isolate—bad move. Keep your people close. Get coffee with a friend. Call your mom. Hug your dog. Start a support group for “Humans Against Robots.”

Community isn’t just for hippies—it’s survival. Even Gottman’s marriage research says: the couples who make it are the ones who say, “Yeah, the dishwasher’s broken, but at least we’re broken together.”

Step 5: Make Fear Work for You

Your fear of AI isn’t proof you’re doomed—it’s energy. Harness it. Fear got your ancestors to run from tigers. Use it now to sign up for a welding class, or launch that side hustle selling artisanal dog biscuits shaped like Jeff Bezos.

Final Thought

Look, AI’s going to wipe out some jobs. But it’s not going to wipe out humanity’s need for trust, taste, touch, or talent. Your real job isn’t “marketing assistant” or “Uber driver.” Your real job is adapting. And if you’ve made it this far in life—through puberty, taxes, and your family’s group chat—you already know how.

So take a breath. Learn a new skill. And for God’s sake, tip your therapist—because I’ve got to stay in business too.

Sincerely,

Ross Grossman, MA, LMFT
Affinity Therapy Services

http://www.affinitytherapyservices.com