There is a difference between passion and obsession.
Passion is a positive word that leads to growth, self-improvement, and perhaps one’s purpose in life; obsession on the other hand has a negative connotation about it, which could lead to being out of control and even mentally sick.
When you are passionate, everybody cheers you on. “Oh! you found your passion. Great! Be passionate! Follow your passion! Reach your goals! Live your dream!” People encourage you because they think you are on to something.
But when you are obsessed, they go, “Why you gotta be so crazy? Why do you spend so much time on [thing]?” Why can’t you be reasonable about it?” “You don’t have to be so preoccupied with it, it’s just a hobby (or a job, or a sport), isn’t it?”
When you are obsessed, people think you are nuts.
In life, you have a choice. You can either be passionate or obsessed.
Both choices are fine.
Being passionate about something is being in love with life.
But being obsessed with something is living life at another level.
I chose to be obsessed.
I don’t know when my passion for writing turned into an obsession.
When I started, writing was so attractive and fulfilling that I became passionate about it. I dedicated time to it and strived to improve. Then came achievement and with it recognition. And that was when the problem began. I couldn’t let it go. I had to write every day. The day I don’t write, is the day that doesn’t exist.
I could rather be writing than attending a party or going for a swim or going for a walk.
The Cambridge dictionary defines the two words as follows:
Passion: an extreme interest in or wishes for doing something.
Obsession: something or someone that you think about all the time.
A passion is “extreme” but the aspect of time isn’t present. An obsession stays “all the time”.
I think about writing all the time. I work on getting better every day. I don’t rest. I can’t let it go. I am not content with my progress. I want to get better. I can’t accept the level I am at the moment. I know I could be better. I will continue to work on it until I reach the level, where I want to be.
If you really want to achieve something worth achieving, you must get obsessed.
If you are not obsessed you are not operating at your optimum potential.
If no one thinks you are crazy, you are not there yet.
You are not there yet until somebody in your life says, “Jee! you really care about this in a crazy way.” That’s when people see your obsession.
The weirder you are the more committed you are to focus on your thing.
Obsession forces you to stay focused.
Obsession makes you keep going when others are partying, socializing, having fun, sleeping, or simply fitting in.
Obsession empowers you to find new ways to learn, to push your comfort zone, and to push yourself beyond what others or even you thought was not possible.
I love this quote from the quote is from one of Bukowski's numerous letters, it reads...
My dear,
Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain from you your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you, and let it devour your remains.
For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it's much better to be killed by a lover.
Falsely yours, Henry Charles Bukowski
I will rather let writing kill me than give it up for a mediocre life.
What will be your choice?
I don’t know how I stumbled upon Rebakah Lambart’s Freelance Jungle Newsletter but was sucked in by her beautiful writing and soul-touching stories.
Her recent post, It’s up to you to create the magic, about her father getting detected with cancer and not having enough time to come to terms with it.
As my Dad was handed the news he was finally out of options when it came to cancer treatment, his head couldn’t cope. It broke and it fought against the inevitable. But he did manage to stammer out in amongst the sheer enormity of his plight with a broken voice that haunts me still, if he only had six to twelve months, he would rather spend it travelling. And then he muttered through the snot and resentful resignation a list of places he might like to see.
Her subsequent message was - fuck the business side of your creativity and create something for pleasure.
Her other posts are equally good. You can subscribe to her newsletter here.
On Wednesday, 30th November, I won NaNoWriMo, for the 5th time. I wrote a 20,000 words novella, The Adventures of An Online Writer, and 30,000 words for the novel I am writing for a decade now.
I published the novella on Medium, chapter by chapter, but the novel still needs more work.
I will be concentrating on the novel this month as well.
That’s all from me this week.
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Oh Neera, I can relate to this post so very much! Have fun with your writing obsession.
Congratulations on the award!!! More congratulations on continuing to work!!! Keep going!!! May your writing tools always be available and your favorite beverage always in your cup!!!