"Focus on one thing."
That piece of advice has always frustrated me, in large part because it seems to be good advice. A lot of hyper-successful people tend to do one thing really well for a really long period of time. If I wanted to reach that level of success, I'd need to find my thing. My obsession.
In many ways, this obsession with obsession – and this larger idea of narrowing all of your attention to one life-encompassing goal – comes at a time where religion has taken a backseat in most people's lives. In the West today, "Obsession" seems to be taking the place of God.
And therein lies my hesitation.
It’s also why, despite there not being anything inherently wrong with “hustle culture,” it rubs a lot of folks the wrong way. Ambitious young people view obsession as the goal, and their work as a vehicle to achieve this obsessed lifestyle. Instead, obsession is the vehicle, and we need something greater to maintain our attention.
That piece of advice has always frustrated me, in large part because it seems to be good advice. A lot of hyper-successful people tend to do one thing really well for a really long period of time. If I wanted to reach that level of success, I'd need to find my thing. My obsession.
In many ways, this obsession with obsession – and this larger idea of narrowing all of your attention to one life-encompassing goal – comes at a time where religion has taken a backseat in most people's lives. In the West today, "Obsession" seems to be taking the place of God.
And therein lies my hesitation.
It’s also why, despite there not being anything inherently wrong with “hustle culture,” it rubs a lot of folks the wrong way. Ambitious young people view obsession as the goal, and their work as a vehicle to achieve this obsessed lifestyle. Instead, obsession is the vehicle, and we need something greater to maintain our attention.