Encouraging Obsession

When you hear the word “obsession” what comes to mind? For me it used to conjure up images of mad scientists building their robot armies to take over the world, but lately I’ve been gaining a new perspective on the word. In my siblings I often see a strong passion that verges on obsession. Either one of them can get caught up in an idea they heard about or a new toy they got. I used to think that was a problem because the new obsession would get in the way of school, chores, and sometimes common civility. However, I now believe that it isn’t the obsession that’s the problem, it’s the object of the obsession.

For example, in the case of my younger sister the computer has been a long time obsession and for a while it was a legitimate problem. We would be hard pressed to get a kind or even a normal response out of her when she was playing, and if anyone said, “It’s time to get off now” they might as well have entered the missile codes and launched WWIII. That particular object of obsession was not a healthy one. However, I’ve seen the same girl become obsessed about reading, writing, and sewing. Those obsessions brought about positive results. Her vocabulary was expanded, she wanted to tell us about what she was reading and writing, and she wanted to show us what she had made. Those obsessions brought her closer to us. So although our first reaction to the word “obsession” can be a negative one, if the right obsession is found the results can be very positive.

 For these kids an obsession is an activity. Where another kid will be somewhat interested in writing, our brothers and sisters will practically glue themselves to a chair and write a 600 page novel in a week. But that can be to our advantage. Instead of trying to stop them from obsessing, if we can encourage them to find a new, healthy object of obsession we can join a part of their world. Yes, they live in an intense and obsessive world but it’s their world. If we’re able to connect with them it will open up new doors into a deeper friendship with them and that’s something worth encouraging.