One of the lynchpins of my office is leaving. After hearing the news, a coworker asked me if I knew why.
I said, “there’s an intangible force that runs through every person in every company. I call it ‘The Love.’
“The Love comes from two places. There’s Intrinsic Love — that’s the love of what you do. When you wake up in the morning, excited to get in the office and do the thing you were hired to do — that’s Intrinsic Love bubbling over.
“It also comes from Extrinsic Love — that’s the love other people give to you for doing the thing you do in the office. They give it to you in the form of thanks and accolades.
“The Love is a finite thing, and you use it up little by little. You have to refill it, and that refill comes from Intrinsic Love or Extrinsic Love or both. If your work or your rewards can keep refilling The Love, then you’ve got a great thing.
“But if you’re not getting enough of The Love for your effort, then The Love runs out. Maybe it’s because you don’t like what you do. Maybe it’s because others don’t appreciate what you do. Regardless of the reason, the effect is the same.
“His Love ran out. That’s why he’s leaving.”
“I see,” my coworker said. “It’s like a relationship. Sometimes they go great. But sometimes she’s a cranky bitch and the bitch wears you out little by little until you don’t ever want to see her bitch face again.”
“You got it.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
And that’s the story of The Love.