I’ve long held this belief that fulfilling work is supposed to always be gleeful — that it’s always fun, easy-going, and difficult but not too difficult… just the right amount.
Over time though, I’ve come to realize that this perceived relationship between fulfillment and glee is pretty spurious and, if anything, quite harmful to assume.
Some of the most fulfilling work out there is the kind that tests our limits and pushes us into discomfort. We find fulfillment in these experiences because they enable us to evolve and realize just how resilient, creative, and capable we can be.
On a Clubhouse chat I was on last year (does anyone still use that?), someone brought up a metaphor about how carbon forms into a diamond through pressure. Fulfilling work is a little bit like that.
In one of my courses in college, the professor had the class ready The Alchemist and dedicated a whole class session to teaching the importance of putting ourselves through trials, learning from them, and becoming better versions of ourselves in the process. Fulfilling work is a little bit like that as well.
Most importantly, there are two parts to making something fulfilling: the first is taking on the challenge (sometimes it’s not really a choice); the second is approaching it with the mindset that you are going to learn and grow from it.