I used to be ashamed of my obsessions until I changed the things I’m obsessed about. One of my favorite things to do is to dream. To sit and think and imagine myself going round and round visualizing my next design project, what my next conversation with my next client will look like, and countless hours of how I wanted my life to turn out. Dreaming has become one of my greatest assets and my obsessions with the way I see things turning out is still a big deal for me. Then there are the voices, you know the ones that have an answer for everything and can never leave well enough alone? The voices that show up to kill every good thought you have because they think you’re not worth the good things you have planned for yourself. Turn out, those little shits have their own set of obsessions and if you’re not careful, they win.
So what do we do about it? How do we stop the madness?
(Disclaimer: I’m not a psychologist and none of the following has been tested or proven.)
A few questions I ask myself before agreeing to play along with my thoughts are:
+ How much time am I willing to dedicate to this particular thought? Good or bad.
+ What’s the up or downside and how long shall I wander around in there?
+ What am I going to do about anything I may find because I have to do something?
If I can answer and agree to those terms internally, then I play ball. No matter the situation, from having a better relationship with important people in my life to understanding my clients and my business better. If I don’t have answers for those questions first, I find something else to obsess over.