Desire or Obsession

I think obsession means all of your energy and thinking is taken up by whatever your goal. I wouldn't be surprised to find that most people who are very successful are also obsessive. It's true that when a person is referred to as obsessive it generally means in some negative way.

I think a desire to achieve something great in life turns into obsession when the person which is controlled by that desire detaches himself or herself almost completely from any other activities to focus on that goal and,what's worse,begins to ignore the people who once were closed to that person,and in that process that person is even capable of almost everything,even doing harmful things to others just to satisfy that desire,so for me the word 'obsession' definitely has a negative meaning because I'm convinced that,once a person's desire turns into obsession,it is very difficult to get out of that state which completely invades the mind and soul of an individual.

yes there is a different and that is exactly what you said obsession is negative. That is the difference. Practicing to perfect a skill is not an obsession it is something you have to do the perfect that skill that is positive. Sitting down playing guitar all day in your garage, when you should be out looking for a job is an obsession, it is actually preventing you from moving ahead in the world and and getting a job. This is happens when you really will not be doing anything to improve your life with that guitar playing. On the other hand if you are practicing playing the guitar in your garage because you are trying out for a paying gig is not an obsession. It is a desire to be gainfully employed in that field.

‘Desire for success' is a positive term; it makes a man work, motivates him to think of smart ways of achieving his target. When this motivation excludes everything else to the extent of stomping on all that comes in between his goals and achievement then it starts to become an obsession. Now, even here there is a thin dividing line between focus and obsession. Focus would be more on the action but obsession is more related to the result. Obsession obviously has a negative connotation because being a persistent thought in the mind, it would be a constant feeling that eats into the self. Great discussion topic! .

Obsession is not doing up your bed, nor preparing breakfast, nor attending to your kids - giving up everything else and just being after something that you want to achieve. That to my mind is obsession. In order to succeed one needs to go after it but thinking success, dreaming success, eating success surely will come under the category of obsession. \ My sister runs a school at her house. I can truly say she is obsessed with it as even if you visit her once in a blue moon she has no time to sit with you and spend some time with you

Hello Suebee, Desire is important. Here's the question I would ask: What is the difference between obsession and passion? I think an obsession could be viewed as a negative thing along with addiction. To be passionate about something means that you completely throw yourself into something. Being involved adds to you joy and you do it without the guarantee of success.

My husband is obsessed with golf. He plays it, watches it on television, plays it on the Playstation. No he is not practicing to become a professional or to even succeed at a certain score. He is just plain obsessed. Or perhaps passionate is a better word. My daughter is obsessed with sports, especially soccer. She loves to play, loves to watch but.... she does not like practicing at all. She doesn't like practicing anything. She wants to succeed in sports. She won an award at school this year for MVP in basketball. That makes her happy and if she knew there was a possibility of a career maybe she would take it more seriously as far as practicing. She likes to succeed. Likes to get goals and awards. But she doesn't like practicing. So does that mean she is more obsessed than being passionate for success? The church had a fundraiser which consisted of a 5K run. This same daughter refused to prepare/train for it. When she crossed the finish line her first words were, "Never again." Don't know whether she meant never again run the 5K or never again do it without training. But, get this, she came in 2nd for women 15-24. She almost came in first by a nose. I guess she is one that likes to succeed without doing the work. LOL! I think she takes after her mother.

I think desire have that drive in you that makes you want to give a lot of effort in order to succeed. I would not tell that spending hours to practice is a bad thing because that is only natural. Obsession will only comes in, when you are doing bad things in order to succeed. Like cheating or doing dirty paraphernalia. Or maybe when they don`t care about anyone like when a family is sick or there`s an emergency but he or she will working then it would be obsession, not desire. You also have to know your limit

If you really want something and when it over takes all your waking time and space. Completing giving up of ones self to become as good as you can at a certain thing--that could be obsession. A very deep desire to suceed is an obsession. If you read the defination of obsession you can see why it can be thought of as negative. ob·ses·sion [ ?b sésh'n ] 1.preoccupation: an idea or feeling that completely occupies the mind 2.state of being obsessed: the state of being obsessed by somebody or something 3.uncontrollable persistence of idea: the uncontrollable persistence of an idea or emotion in the mind, sometimes associated with psychiatric disorder Synonyms: mania, fascination, fixation, passion, preoccupation, thing Etc., etc.

I think that it has to do with the person's happiness and state of mind, which is probably why desire is considered positive and obsession is viewed as negative. If a musician is spending hours upon hours upon hours practicing, because it makes him or her happy and he or she enjoys it, then I would say it is desire. Once the person stops enjoying it and only does it because he or she feels that it is necessary, especially if it is keeping him or her from doing other things in his or her life that would be more enjoyable, then I think it becomes an obsession.

Well, it is clear that if someone wants to achieve a particular goal, must strive to reach that goal. This entails sacrifices ok, but I think it is wrong when it becomes an obsession, as if to say a "disease". Commitment ok, but always in moderation! Perhaps, and this is my point of view, excessive efforts to reach a target occurs from the fear of falling into a failure.

When taken out of context, most adjectives simply are determined by one's POV (point of view). If the proverb was stated correctly, "One man's trash can be another man's treasure", one man's desire could be a point of view from himself, but may also be an obsession to a person outside from his point of view. Hope this helps.

We can say that the desire become obsession when you are doing things all over again without any sense at all or it's beyond your control. Desire to succeed is much way difference from that because we do things all over again for us to be good or reach our goal/ that's what we suppose to do, not to the extent that we doing it because that what our mind saying/to subside our anxiety, there is powerlessness. Obsession can ruin ones life coz its not any good at all so better not strive for perfection to be safe hahahahh............

Yes, your example is a desire. Whereas if you put your desire in a wrong way, then that is obsession. Like abusing yourself just to get your dream. Or hurting others just to get your desire.

The stages of 'Obsession' usually associate with outcome of an event that has negative consequences for yourself and others, while 'desire to succeed' that drive up your determination and wills power doesn't create adverse effect on others and yourself before reaching the goal; that is the main difference between both. If you go overboard or cross the delicate line before reaching your goal or objective, then you are unfortunately in an 'obsessive' mold and it is time to retract or stop before harm is done. Yes, there is a big difference between both terms.