Obsession
The term “red flag” is usually associated with relationships.
Red flags are warning signs that indicate unhealthy behaviour from a person you are in a relationship with.
And while it’s essential to look out for red flags in others, I believe it’s equally important to recognise our own “red flags.”
One of my red flags is becoming obsessed, and it’s about obsession I want to talk today.
Obsession for me shows up as doing something that’s not that essential to the detriment of other things I should be doing. And recently, I recognised that was happening with me and writing my blogs.
On the 15th of November last year, to get back into a habit of posting more on my website and Facebook page, I challenged myself to post a blog every day of the week until the end of 2022. I managed that and felt it helped me get connected again to my writing. I was pleased with that.
But, when the New Year came around, I still felt I needed to write a blog daily. When the thought of taking a day off from it arose, I got an uncomfortable feeling. I recognise that feeling; it indicates I have become obsessed with something. And that is not good.
Writing a blog takes time. If you do a regular blog, you will know it’s more time-consuming and complicated than it looks. You would be surprised how long a few paragraphs can take to compose sometimes. Spending a big chunk of time writing content is fine if you make money off your blog, but I don’t, so committing all the time I have been recently is actually stopping me from building my coaching practice, which is my priority in 2023.
That is why yesterday, I made the decision not to post anything. I needed to break the pattern. And now, I need to set a healthy boundary around my blogging so I don’t slip back into this obsession and lose focus on my priorities.
I will still be posting regularly; that’s essential to my plans this year. Uploading a picture, sharing a quote or doing the odd video takes no time at all. But from now on, it will only be Monday to Friday, and as for longer blogs, I am limiting them to one a week on a Wednesday.
So my question to you reading this is simple: Do you, like me, sometimes find yourself being obsessed with things that are not essential while leaving the must-do stuff unattended to?
If you answered yes, here is a three-step process you can follow to take control of your obsessive behaviour:
- Be honest, recognise the practice you have developed an obsession with, and decide it needs to be changed.
- Set a healthy boundary around how often you will undertake that practice in the future.
- Share this new boundary with people that will hold you accountable.
By following this simple three-step process, you will be able to take control of your behaviour and allow yourself to enjoy it healthily while not allowing it to stop you from doing essential things.
I have used this process many times, and it works.
I covered points one and two earlier in the week. This blog is a way for me to cover off point three.
This page and my blog have been many things for me over the years. A place to practice, a playground for my creativity; at times, it’s even felt like a therapist. But most of all, I have used it to keep me accountable. I always follow through when I commit to something on this page or in a blog.
So from now on, if Booty sneaks more than one blog a week in, you have my permission to call me out.
Take Care
GB
Originally published at https://garethboot.com on January 13, 2023.
