Why Work Won’t Love You Back. And Why That Truth Set Me Free

I recently watched Sarah Jaffe’s discussion on a TED Talk podcast about, “Why Work Won’t Love You Back (and Why That’s Okay).”

It stayed with me.

Because if you work in biopharma, you know how easy it is to fall in love with the mission.

We don’t just make

-- Things --

We help make -- Medicine.

We design systems that keep the ailing safe.

We engineer reliability into industrial processes -- to protect lives.

We use the skills and knowledge we worked so hard to learn in order to transform science into something. . .

Something -- Very Magical.

In this industry we transform science into healing.

It’s meaningful work. And it’s deeply human to care about it.

But over time, I learned that when you give your whole heart to the mission, you can forget to leave space for yourself.

There were seasons when I gave my job my all and ended up depleted.

Not because the work was wrong, but because I forgot that purpose still needs boundaries.

Jaffe’s reminder hit home: work can’t love you back.

It can challenge you, and it can inspire you, but it can’t nurture you.

It doesnt give back to you in the way that your friends or family do.

Learning that didn’t make me less invested in my job, but it did allow me to show up differently.

Now, I make sure that I am present--- not only for the patients I am dedicating my work to ---

I make sure I am present to advocate for my team, my family, and myself; with the same conviction I once reserved mostly for my work.

I care as much about those around me and myself, as I do about my purpose. Because the goal isn’t to stop caring. It's to care sustainably.

💡 Have you ever had to relearn your relationship with work?

How do you balance passion with peace?

F2I Partners LLC