Obsessions
December 15th, 2022
I had my share of those. God, I had a lot of those over the years — things, subjects, actions that took hold of my free time, or of all of my time, or on some occasions — of my whole life. Some went away by themselves — simply one day I stopped caring about something. Some were my crucible for a long time — and took the strength I didn't know I had to fight off. Some are still with me — reading and constant thirst for knowledge and discovery of new things. Those are healthy obsessions and I enjoy them and cannot imagine my life without them and will never try to get them under control.
Control might be a wrong word here — by definition, obsession is something already beyond control. Something that consumes an inordinate amount of time and money and vitality. Of course, some obsessions — even when taken to extremes — can be healthy and positive. Like caring for one’s health and body, that can easily take over all other daily tasks when superior health or looks are the never-ending goals. Nothing wrong with that — except that a person with this obsession can become a monumental bore.
There are extremely unhealthy obsessions as well, I think it might be a majority of them. And I had a prime example of that today — when work was no longer an important thing, but turned into a clear and loud and screaming obsession — for all to see. A guy at work made a minor mistake, something that in the long run wouldn't even be really noticed, but because it is the end of the year, every penny spent counts. Literally. Several people from the top management went after him and this “mistake” in a way that was no longer professional, but rather menacing and harassing. They were no longer people to be reasoned with. Their obsession was overwhelming and to me —actually scary. It took over completely their way of thinking and seeing and reacting. They were like people possessed with what they perceived as a mistake and the way it had to be repaired — NOW! I think I lost any respect I still might have had for them. It was so pathetic.
As an aside — I noticed something just as wrong and also scary when all that was happening. I noticed coworkers, keeping quiet and taking in the workplace drama with a definite glint of glee in their eyes. I guess because it was not them, somebody else was the scapegoat and will be for the foreseeable future. But also, I guess, because a poster boy for work ethic and dedication in the corporate world was getting a stern talking to and was knocked down a notch. Or several notches. Or a lot of notches in this case. There was a definite pleasure at the misfortune of another person in the air and in the mood of those around it. And that is not good as well.
