These are all telltale examples of what University of Quebec psychology professor Robert Vallerand calls obsessive passion. While nearly all passions can lead to feelings of obsession, Vallerand’s obsessive passion refers to those that become motivated by achievement, results, and external rewards more so than by internal satisfaction. It’s when someone becomes more passionate about the rewards an activity might bring than about doing the activity itself. Obsessive passion can quickly hijack a joyful and righteous pursuit and turn it into a dark one. One of the foremost reasons for this is
...more
