I was in NYC all week meeting with the CEO of our 5 Billion dollar company. He is an impressive guy who has achieved meaningful things in our 200 year old company. We had a few conversations, and as he shared his thoughts on things he spoke about the things that he was “obsessed” with…
He has used this word in the past before… “obsession” and he uses it in the context of “My obsession has been… or my obsession is…”
I don’t know if it is an idiomatic thing – where “obsession” can be possibly substituted for “passion”… but the words are different – and they cause me pause.
We can be passionate about many things… and passion only speaks to the level of emotion and interest, not necessarily to the visceral need for action. Obsession demands action.
Obsession in English is usually tied to negative things… when you are “obsessed” with something it connotes an irrational desire for, an ability to not be satiated by… It has a negative connotation.
BUT… I love it!
He is “obsessed” by achieving gender equality and having more women represented at the highest levels of the company. He is obsessed with safety and having people make it home from work – as they went to work. He is obsessed with things that matter… and make the world better.
I have worked hard in my life – not to be obsessed – not to have an irrational and insatiable desire for something – but to always keep my reason and my balance. And yet, I am eager to be obsessed, hungry for it… in the exploration of it.
To me, having an “obsession” in the way we are discussing it – is having a purpose that you can’t get out of your mind… having a calling that moves you to action… that creates curiosity… that is insatiable.
I want to be obsessed by what I do everyday… That is now a new threshold and expectation… Nothing less will do…
WHAT IS MY OBSESSION?
For the moment, my “obsession” is to find an obsession 😉
And, I’d like to have an obsession that feeds my soul and one that feeds my soul while feeding the world.
Giving myself permission to become obsessed feels liberating… it feels appropriate.
I may be obsessed with the idea of not being in a hurry.
I may be obsessed with finding more spirituality in my life.
I may be obsessed with the peace and quiet and magic of sailing.
And, none of those will change the world.
I want to be obsessed with love… and how it plays a more deliberate role in our lives.
I am passionate about justice, and people, and strategy and culture… I am passionate about making a difference. I am passionate about being motivated by what I do everyday…
And, passionate is not enough. Passionate does not lead to action – but rather to an intensity of feeling.
It is time for me to define my obsession… and to share it boldly with the world.
And, so I go… clearer now than before for what I am searching for…
In harmony,
Nestor