productive obsession

Most people harbor the hope that “when things change” or “when things improve” they will do a better job of productively obsessing and paying attention to their brainstorms. It is much smarter not to wait for that mythical time to arrive.

Begin to look forward to your coming brainstorm. Begin to smile at the thought of it. Began to organize a bit in anticipation of clearing the decks. Begin to wean yourself from this or that distracting activity. Get ready. Soon you will begin a fine month of productive obsessing. I hope you are eager!

But love and passion are not the criteria; good reasons are. A productive obsession is an idea that you have good reasons for pursuing. It is the way you use your brain to handle the business of life, do the next right thing, make meaning, and make yourself proud. If genuine love, passion, and interest are fueling the idea, consider them bonuses or

You do not want to go too long without a productive obsession in place, since that will mean that you won’t really be thinking.

The person next to you may think that the epitome of brain powering is a sharp game of bridge or a rousing afternoon with a crossword puzzle. You will discover that real brain power is holding a rich idea over time as you productively obsess your novel into existence,

By choosing to productively obsess about his horror of tackling the contract work, he’d begun to examine his assumptions and listen to his negative self-talk with a new ear — and that proved enough. He used his brain’s full power to test his assumptions and examine his self-talk and concluded — at first subconsciously and then consciously — that

if their obsession takes them no further than wringing their hands and spinning their wheels, it is not productive. Their obsession, as excellent as it might be if they genuinely embraced it, is as negative as any other unproductive obsession while it remains a fantasy shrouded in worry.

The only sensible course, with respect to each new potential productive obsession that you field, is to pause and think.

If you can get from San Francisco to Paris in twelve hours, what can’t you do in a month? You could get in a lot of productive obsessing — or learn about your idiosyncratic ways of preventing yourself from using your brainpower. In a month you could produce a brainstorm or learn why you refuse to cultivate one.