…..What’s love but a second hand emotion.

Happy Valentine’s day to you!

As I watched an episode of 12 Monkeys last night, I was struck by a piece of advice thrown into scene setting part of the episode, received by one of the main protagonists, by their father.

“It’s the heart, not the mind that sustains us.” – Mr. Werner

12 Monkeys S. 1 Ep. 12 ‘Paradox’

The heart and love, in this context are inextricably linked, but while romantic love takes the headlines today, it is passion and a love for what we do and with whom we share that love that sustains us.

I  recently, along with a collection of my colleagues, had the experience of fronting a recruitment video for my employers.

One of the big themes of the video is what it is like to work in this environment, with these people. There wasn’t a script and there is genuine enthusiasm on display for the workplace.

Speaking to some of my friends, it saddens me to hear that so many aren’t enjoying their jobs. In fact, many dread Mondays…I think it’s even the theme of a well known recruitment agency.

I’m not entirely convinced that the former Mr J-Lo is the true source of this quote, but he has a nice smile, so we’ll go with it.

“When something you love becomes work, it fundamentally—and unavoidably—changes the way in which you interact with it.”

Chrissy Scivicque conjectures that this belief is a fallacy in her piece in Forbes, but surely there has to be some sort of happy medium?

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As I write this today, I am a software tester, I started testing software in 2004 and it is still what I do and it is a part of my identity. The origins of my testing career has often been described a ‘falling into’ testing, but I think that discredits the craft, in agreement with Katrina Clokie‘s tweet.

The longer I have been a tester, the greater the enthusiasm I have for it. This is true because testing is so diverse and I always have the opportunity to learn more.

I’ve attended job fairs and acted as a STEM ambassador in the Engineering Education Scheme (EES), always advocating the craft of testing as a career path to pursue.

I was a host at the EuroSTAR Community Huddle, a role I will reprise at UKSTAR this coming March. The Huddle is a space for a confluence of testers, games, conversations, inspiration and support. It highlights how great the community of testers is, where we can celebrate testing in all shapes and sizes, it is a people profession and the people are awesome.

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Blog post title lyrics from: What’s love got do with it – by Tina Turner.

Find all the songs from my blog posts at this Spotify playlist.