Exploring Happiness #46- Compulsion Poem by June Stepansky

A good compulsion
is nevertheless a compulsion.
A workaholic, though valuable,
Is still a compulsive.

The push toward achievement
is a powerful narcotic.
The pursuit of danger
is a dangerous narcotic.

When living and loving
become too difficult,
the need for the solace
of our various narcotics
becomes an overwhelming
Compulsion.

Although obsessive behavior can be a key ingredient in achieving difficult goals, it can also take from our lives the balance and the fulfillment which we need to enjoy a more well-rounded and more meaningful life.
If obsessive behavior is a short term objective leading to a particular achievement, then it can ultimately be a benefit, but if it becomes the total focus of our lives for long periods of time, it can then lead us into a more narrow and unbalanced life.
Since we all have multiple needs, we must make the effort to meet as many of these needs as possible, and be careful that one obsessive need does not displace all the other important aspects of our existence.

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I hold this as a rule of life:
Too much of anything is bad.
Terence

A man must drive his energy,
not be driven by it.
William Frederick Book