What I've Been Thinking About
😍 Results follow obsession
In a recent Brain Food newsletter by Shane Parrish, he mentioned that "results follow obsession," which stood out to me as a simple truth in life.
We may have brief obsessions and life-long obsessions, but the sum total of our obsessions have an immense impact on both the direction and the results we receive throughout our life.
When we break it down, what is an obsession? Our obsession manages to consume an inordinate amount of our time. Not only how we choose to spend our self-directed time, but a long-running thread in our subconscious that's always thinking about our obsession.
A healthy obsession essentially squeezes out the best of our conscious and unconscious mind, while unifying their usually scattered efforts.
Obsession is the ultimate manifestation of intrinsic motivation, where we do or think about something for its own sake. When we spend time on our obsession it's fueled by a nearly limitless reservoir of energy and focus, resulting in an intensity unmatched by anyone "making themselves" do something.
This is why I think our culture talks so much about passion. We nurture our passion; we tell others to follow their passion. Investors and companies look for passionate founders and employees. But passion comes and goes. It's more like a flame, not an all-consuming conflagration.
I think we're afraid of obsession, when we see obsession in others we ridicule or make fun of it. We see it as unnatural. I think it's because it's something we can't necessarily control and obsession isn't evenly distributed between us all. Passion is the culturally acceptable version of obsession.
But passion is just a pale reflection of obsession.
Results don't follow passion, results follow obsession.
Links
Broken by Concept Ep: 50 ft. Patrick - THIS IS WHY WE DO THE PODCAST
This was really cool to see. It was the intersection of some of my favorite internet people with one of my favorite IRL people.
I have a minor obsession with this video game called League of Legends (LoL), which I play regularly with my best friend since high school, Patrick. He's also the person I do the Branching Thoughts podcast with.
Broken by Concept is a podcast put on by Curtis and Nathan, two of the top LoL players in the world who've now turned their attention to coaching and helping others climb through the ranks. As much as their podcast is about sharing the tactics and strategies to win more at LoL, it's also about teaching the fundamental principles around building a growth mindset, the power of embracing responsibility and accountability, and bringing more thoughtfulness and intention to everything you do.
Well, Patrick is also a fan of the podcast and recently sent in a personal video detailing his personal growth as he's improved at the game. He covers many of the mental obstacles encountered on the way, how he is using the game as a vehicle to transition from a fixed to a growth mindset, and the lessons learned from the first year of his beginner's journey.
Curtis and Nathan were blown away by the personal video from Patrick and decided to break down and talk about the various topics brought up by Patrick.