OBSESSION
- November 28, 2019
- Posted by: Sam Adettiwar
- Category: Great Life
O = P2 : Obsession is Passion Squared
In Season 3 Episode 13 of the popular crime drama series, CSI: New York, titled ‘Obsession’, a well to do man is found murdered in a vacant apartment and clues link the crime to a subculture of racing shopping carts. The episode title is yet another marker of how the idea of obsession has come to be pathologized at best and demonized at worst. But today I want to discuss how Mahatman believes that OBSESSION is not just value neutral but can become a powerful weapon in the journey to achieve your goals and especially to emerge as the Great Soul.
Let us begin with the common definition of the term. The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘obsession’ as “the control of one’s thoughts by a continuous, powerful idea or feeling”. Where is the difficulty in that? A powerful idea or feeling in fact is the motivation needed to step out of the comfort zone in order to learn and do great things. How simple it is to reach for low lying fruits and then get lulled by a sense of accomplishment! But all that is such a waste – not just because you are taking the easy way out but because you are setting yourself up for eventual decay of your abilities and waste of your potential.
Do I hear you saying, “But I have Passion for my work – Isn’t that enough?” Actually it is not. Passion is just your senses being inflamed for the time being. Anyone who has felt passionately about something or someone knows how Passion works – it waxes and wanes, worse still, it comes and goes. Now contrast with Obsession – its very meaning requires you to be in the grip of your idea or activity over a period of time – remember “continuous, powerful idea or feeling” from the definition above? So it is only obsession that makes things happen in the long run – for no dream or goal truly big can be attained overnight. So if your dreams and goals are of such mighty proportions that they actually scare you, only obsession has enough firepower to propel you ahead.
But of course all rockets need igniting right? And here in comes the need for Passion. Mahatman believes that you have to start with Passion. An essential component of Work Ethic is passion for work – of any nature and kind. In other words, no matter what work you are engaged in – be it taking orders at Macdonald drive-in or doing taxes for wealthy clients or teaching kindergarten kids – you need to focus on it 100%. No matter whether you physically enjoy it or hate it, whether you mentally like or dislike it, spiritually agree or disagree with it, you need to approach your work with passion. Only this way, working unconditionally and with passion, can you get the job done.
So then where does Obsession come in?
Now to this passionate and unconditional zest for work, when we add the fire of interest and aptitude, we get OBSESSION; So Passion squared = Obsession. Thus Obsession emerges when you not just approach your work with passion, but bring your psychological resources to it as well. In the above example of the McDonalds employee, when he or she is passionate about work, orders are correctly taken and executed with a smile. The employee is a good team worker and is diligent about learning more. However when this passion at work meets his or her aptitude for culinary innovations, interest in creative food and goal of opening own fast food chain, Obsession is in action. When that employee becomes obsessed with creating a unique fast food menu and popularizing it, only then he/she will achieve personal mastery in his or her work and in this way, it is obsession that will fuel the journey from big dreams to reality.
Now we come to the really useful part – how do you harness the powers of Obsession to achieve your own goals? Here is a 5 step program:
Shrug off the negativity:
It is not just enough to understand the enormous potential of Obsession to power your own progress but you should grasp it firmly enough to shrug off all the negativity associated with the concept. OCD is just one of the many psychological terms that have done serious damage to the popular understanding of Obsession. People imagine it as something that makes you delusional, destructive, and psychotic. But the truth is that Obsession is just a powerful tool – what will come off it entirely depends on how you use it.
Harness the forces:
Part of the reason why Obsession has got a bad press is because lesser people are unable to harness its powers effectively. So whether sports or business forms the crux of your obsession, pursue it responsibly and creatively. And one of the ways to do this is to adopt Great Health practices so that whatever you do, is for the benefit for either your mind and body. Avoiding substance abuse and taking a nutritious diet is how you power your body to attain your goals. Similarly, take care that you do not hurt others when working towards your ambitions. Mahatman tells you to bake and eat your cookie but never steal it from someone else. Once you start cheating and hurting, you are giving in to the darker side of Obsession which will not only take you away from your dreams but actually destroy you from within.
Be Obsessed by Many:
Who says that you have to pick out one interest and follow it for the rest of your life? that is what moles do – digging away in the ground all their lives! You as Great Souls in the making can do so much more. Stretch all the muscles of your potential and fire up different areas of your life with obsession. Get obsessed about being an innovator, a professional, a partner, a parent, or mentor. Human beings are blessed with multiple intelligences, abilities, and skills – use Obsession to power up all those parts of your being.
Note the Role Models
Isn’t it incredible how all the Greatest achievers have some time or other been labeled obsessive? The iconic Steve Jobs was often described as difficult and a control freak; the epoch making art by Picasso was criticized as ‘schizophrenic’ and even ‘satanic’ while today Elon Musk is called mad for his vision to colonize space. But make no mistake – all these people never cared for jibes and attacks. They just sped full steam on with their obsession and today we know them as some of the greatest achievers in human history.
Get Obsessed by what’s difficult:
Yet another reason why you need to graduate from passion to obsession is because of the tendency to do what comes naturally. Self-help gurus perpetually drone “Find your passion” and “Do what you love”. But today I say to you, “ Go for what challenges you! ” Doing what you find difficult, what scares you and makes you break out in a sweat – that is what needs the full force of your Obsession. Pick out one or two skills that seem most daunting and pour in all your obsessive energy into it. Sooner than later you are going to get darn good at it – you will not only have conquered your demons but got one step closer to Greatness.
