Keep riding your bike but hand over your tools....

My girlfriend is obsessed with her bicycle.....OK..yikes.. this is not really the introduction I was looking for....and I think this topic needs a little insight.  So what is the difference between being obsessed with something and having passion. Firstly, certainly Chopper from bike mag (Ask Chopper http://www.bikemag.com/) would agree...nothing wrong with that!  Obsession or passion whatever, be thankful your girlfriend even like mountain biking, have some fun pop a wheely or just relax on that climb if she is a little slower than you. 

So....need a little help from this guy/pretty good insight here....(Edge of Perpectives by John Hagel--http://www.edgeperspectives.com/pop.html)


1-It is the edge...passionate people fight their way willingly to the edge to find places where they can pursue their passions more freely, while obsessive people (at best) passively drift there or (at worst) are exiled there.  Some degree of FREE WILL.


2-Sense of self: Achieving potential versus compensating for inadequacy.  Passionate people find edges exciting. Passion inspires creation and passion gives us the energy and motivation to work hard—and joy.It requires a passionate person to generate the strength and enthusiasm to apply the effort needed to achieve and create, which requires they “make great demands of themselves.” 


3-Obsession, far from the joyful effort and striving inspired by passion, is a strategy of escape.  


4-Relationships:  Because passionate people are driven to create as a way to grow and achieve their potential, they are constantly seeking out others who share their passion in a quest for collaboration, friction and inspiration. They present themselves in ways that invite trust – they have little time for pretense and they are willing to express vulnerability and need in order to receive the help they need in achieving their own potential.  Because they are passionate, they are willing to share their own knowledge and experience when they encounter someone sharing their passion. They are also intensely curious, seeking to understand the other passionate people they encounter in order to better see where and how they can collaborate to get better and faster.  In contrast, obsessive people hide behind their objects of obsession.  The objects are what are important, not others or even themselves.

5-The key difference between passion and obsession is fundamentally social: passion helps build relationships and obsession inhibits them. I love my mountain bike friends, my girl girl/guy friends and my family.  

6-Passion creates options while obsession closes options.  

7-all of us have “issues,” what sets these people apart is their ability to transform shortcomings into strengths.

To cultivate passion, to channel its energy into self-determination, inter-personal connections and regenerative curiosity, and finally to find the balance needed to sustain creativity energy on the edge, is much more than health—it is happiness.

So, the difference...in my mind.  It is passion, not obsession. In may ways they are opposites...