Is your work fulfilling?

There are a lot of things that go into making one's work "fulfilling". To list out a few:

1. Work content: Do I find the work itself something I like doing, does it provide me meaning and purpose? The difference between assembling a complete bike vs. fitting nuts on 1000s of bikes on an assembly line.
2. Level of autonomy: Do I have the freedom to respond to varying conditions / requirements or do I need to only follow set guidelines or always ask for approval? An airline in the US is famous for empowering its frontline force with doing whatever they feel is right and required for delighting its customers.
3. Work Environment: Do I like the people I work with, do the values and culture vibe with me? We all operate from a set of values, a way of doing things. Finding people that we have mutual respect with and a way of doing things that are harmonious with us, has a huge impact on our well being and our feeling connected to that work environment.

There is however another aspect. Have you ever seen an artist (singer, dancer, musician, painter) perform and felt envious? Or even for that matter a sportsperson, cook, or even a pottery maker. In the movie "Office Space", the scene towards the end where Peter is working on the construction site of his former office building, if that makes you yearn to get out and get hold of some tools, then you know what I'm talking about.

Any activity, where the outcomes are related to the senses tend to inherently give us a feeling of fulfillment.

It goes without saying most of our jobs are not like that (or to a limited extent) and hence, the importance of having hobbies. Hobbies that allow us to use our hands and tools and create something that delights the senses.

Sharing two of mine, cooking and now tinkering with legos with kiddo. When I'm cooking, slicing n dicing the veggies, tinkering with the spices, the shaping up of colors, textures and flavors, it just feels so satiating. Similarly kiddo and I've been tinkering with legos. At first we used to stick to the guide, but now we're stepping out, making our own designs and learning new things (like power legos) and the feeling of having "created" something, just that! That feels so good.

Do let me know if this thought resonates with you and if so what are the activities / hobbies within or outside work that give you a sense of fulfillment.