I Would Still Choose the Work

What I realized when I asked myself what I’d do if money didn’t matter

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I read a question today that I couldn’t shake.

My first answer was easy.

I would keep doing exactly what I’m doing.

And it surprised me a little how quickly that came out, because I have a lot of hobbies.

There are two rooms in my house dedicated to my crafts.
During Covid, we remodeled our basement kitchen and turned it into a place where I can bake, make chocolates, and build things I care about.

More recently, we started rearranging another room to hold my looms and yarn and paper and everything else that seems to follow me home.

There’s a long list.

I love those spaces. I’ve made room for them in my life.

But they’re something different.

At one point, I thought retirement would look like becoming a home baker. Or a chocolatier.
Maybe it still will. It’s hard to tell.

Because the truth is, I really enjoy what I do.

Even on days when I hate my job, I don’t hate the work.

And I think that’s the difference.

It’s not the role. It’s not the meetings or the structure around it.
It’s the kind of problems I get to spend time with.

Work like this is what I keep coming back to.

I love the continued learning.
I love that things change all the time, even if I’m not always comfortable with that change.

I love the puzzle.

I love seeing the pieces come together.
I love finding the pattern.
I love noticing what doesn’t fit and not letting it go until I understand why.

If I’m being honest, I’d be very happy hiding alone in a dark room working through those problems.

Left on my own, I’d default to solving it quietly.

But that isn’t the whole story.

There’s something about collaborating with people on a hard data problem that feels different.
When it clicks, when everyone sees it at the same time, it’s a kind of high I don’t really get anywhere else.

I can’t fully explain it.
But I know I keep coming back for it.

And that feels important.

Because if everything else were removed.
If money wasn’t the driver.

I think I would still choose this.

Not the job exactly.
But the work.

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Alison + Wiggins

Author’s Note: I mentioned two craft rooms but left out the Lego obsession and the Lego room in the basement. Not everything I love needs to become work.