I don't want you to do anything. I think this is food for thought for you, because from where I'm standing this isn't a perspective you consider. In my eyes, you've adopted a condition of self-destruction. It's incredibly common, but most don't know there are other options.

> I want to be someone who does great work

You can be that, but you'll have to live with the reality that nobody cares.

I want to be a great husband, a reliable friend, somebody funny, somebody people want to be around. I think people care about that. I know nobody I care about cares about my PRs.

> I'm genuinely sorry no one in your life cares about what you spend most of your week doing. That's really tragic.

Nobody in your life cares either, you've just convinced yourself they do so that you can cope with your circumstances and mindset.

If you leave your job tomorrow, the world will keep spinning. Your coworkers will move on remarkably quickly. In fact, if you dropped dead right now, they wouldn't even stop working.

> I care! and in the calculus of existence, my opinion of myself is what matters

Right, I'm addressing your mindset. The fact you care is the problem, not the solution. It's a recipe for misery.

Because your influence on your work is inherently extremely limited. You are a small fraction of the big picture, virtually negligible and worthless. If you attach an emotional string to your work, you WILL face the failures of others.

Is this what you want? Do you want your pride to be in the hands of hundreds, maybe thousands of people you don't care about and who also don't care about you? Because, when people say they care most about work, this is what they're saying.

For me, I'm in such a position where if the company goes under tomorrow, I won't waste my breath. And... for you? Will you cry yourself to sleep? What will come of your ego and image? If that's all you are, then you are not much.

> a rather tired brand of cynicism

Yes, advocating community and a love for life is "cynical"

What is actually cynical is believing your work is your self-worth.

> We believe that any work whatsoever is a sacrament which we offer to God, and so that imbues even the most trivial janitorial work (which I have done in the past) with deep significance

And I actually agree with this!

Your mistake is equating a JOB to WORK in general.

WORK includes emotional work, social work, chores, the mundane, and hobbies.

Your job is the least important work you do. It has the least impact on the world. Many people's jobs actually have a negative impact, because their company performs evil. Certainly, I wouldn't want to be working at Bayer Pharmaceutical when they gave thousands of people HIV.

You want to do work that's meaningful? Go make a cup of coffee for your wife or husband. Observe how that makes them feel and how it makes you feel.