Is your favorite sport, past-time, or passion project a problem?


When does something healthy become disordered? 

"Our time, attention and energy are limited.The more passionate we become about any one pursuit, the less of ourselves we have to offer to everything else....You simply cannot be deeply passionate and balanced in combination. The roots of passion, prevent it.....Living with passion is, by definition, living without balance." 

From the book The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness

In my opinion, the answer to that question is found in asking oneself more questions…….passion is good but there is a fine line between passionate and addicted.

  1.   Is the activity taking lots of head space and thoughts?
  2.  Can you turn thoughts about the activity off?
  3.  Is it mentally distracting from other activities people, or work?
  4.  Is it taking substantial time away from higher priorities?
  5. Is it making you a better or more pleasant person to be around….or the opposite? 
  6. Is it life-giving or is it draining/exhausting? 
  7. How do you feel while you are engaged in the activity? 
  8. Do you fight feelings of guilt?
  9. Do you think or wonder if you do have a problem?
  10. Are you paralyzed with indecision when trying to choose between your activity and something else?
  11. Is the activity an escape or numbing process or is it just enjoyable?
  12. What happens if you have to take time from off from the activity?...is it manageable or incomprehensible?
  13.  Is the activity is becoming obsessive or all encompassing, is there an end in sight….like a goal for a competition or a project?

A few years back when I was questioning if I had a running problem, I had the wrong answers to all of the above except number 13. I did have a problem and because I didn’t recognize it, it resulted in more problems. It is hard to describe my feelings but I just knew that I was often preoccupied and frequently "off". 

I actually knew deep inside something was disordered and I felt something needed correcting. I am passionate about running and I have been most of my life; it is something that I love for the sake of the activity itself. 

Because running is a healthy activity mentally and physically, I never really felt there was a problem with running or how I approached it.  I did it for the love of the sport and I had a healthy perspective on it for a long time. What could be wrong with it? How could it be mentally or physically unhealthy when I found it was healthy for both things? When anything becomes all-consuming, I learned to ask ask some questions. Sometimes our healthy or worthy activity can suddenly get to "an out of ordered" state. It snuck up on me by surprise after a period of being sidelined and injured and shooting for a big goal.

I started to see life get skewed while rehabbing from injury. Running has a bit of an addictive quality due to the endorphins but this was different.  I spent so much time on the rehab process and running and my head was constantly consumed with running thoughts.  I really could not turn them off. I thought about it and read about it....which are not bad things but it was becoming excessive.

My training was not a time problem until the amount of training made me so exhausted that I did not have the adequate energy for my loved ones….time cannot be taken back. It is a most valuable treasure and it is not endlessly supplied to us. We can also be with people and not "present" which I also was guilty of.

I don't regret the time I have put into marathon training but I do regret the phase of mental and physical "mania". Even though I am still in marathon training, I am more balanced and there is an end in sight. More than anything, I am glad that my perspective is back and my heart and mind are more in tune with what is healthy and balanced.

Marathons and/or heavy training are not bad.  They are good but like anything they can be taken to extremes...It is a  spectrum of mental attention and is highly individualized because of that. 

For some very good advice and reading about how to keep an activity you are passionate about at a healthy spot, read the Passion Paradox!


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