# Challenging, Exciting, and Fun By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-03-14 One of the most rewarding aspects of authentic, professional conversations is that they are challenging, exciting, and fun. Engaging in collaborative work can be inherently rewarding. Discussing ideas, interrogating implications, and cracking jokes about the task, each other, and oneself, make the burden of existence and work easier to carry. Not every relationship holds this potential. In fact, probably most do not. But it is possible to cultivate solidarity. It is worth striving for the fulfillment of this possibility. Connections matter. As more of our relationships become increasingly abstract, socially mediated, coercive, pretentious, and opportunistic, attention is beneficially directed toward cultivating the alternatives of these characteristics in our professional life. One of the secrets to enjoying work is to engage authentically with somebody you respect. Doing so will be challenging, exciting, and fun even when aspects of the task or situation are absurd. Find and cultivate the real. #### Related Items [[Authenticity]] [[Solidarity]] [[Work]] [[Profession]] [[Relationships]]