Compulsive Acts
Do you ever get it in your mind that you ABSOLUTELY have to do something, and that is all you can think about, obsessively, until you’ve done it?
This is not necessarily a good thing. It’s compulsive.
com-pul-sion: Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, esp. one that is irrational or contrary to one’s will.
If my photo were next to a definition in the dictionary, I fear it would be that one. I sometimes think compulsion is the cause of many of my actions. A few examples:
- When I found out Foer was speaking in Chicago, it was all I could think about for hours while I figured out the logistics. I was stressed out about it at work, when I should have been focused.
- I missed 1.5 miles of my Thursday run and thought obsessively about fitting it in last Friday, when really, I needed to rest my legs*. I didn’t run the 1.5 miles, thankfully.
- This post. I wrote it on my exercise sheet while I was doing my strength routine last Friday. It was all I could think about. Even when writing it (last night on the airplane) I closed the lid of my computer for take-off, but thought of something to write and had to open it back up.
- I had it in my mind that I was going to make certain dishes for my family when they visited. Apparently my mother had a few dishes in mind too? (Hence the Similarities and Differences post – I think we are both like this.)
- I couldn’t get it out of my mind that I had to get our holiday tree last weekend before “all the good ones were gone.” Luckily, Steven humored me on this one and we picked out our tree on Saturday (free delivery to the house on Sunday!).
- I won’t even go into how this affects my relationship with food!
What is all of this about? Why do I obsessively think and plan things? I sometimes think it is because I am afraid of missing out on events and afraid of forgetting thoughts I have. AND, I just get so excited and pumped about things, I want to get them out there while they are fresh!
But it makes it hard for me to focus. I have all of these thoughts swirling around in my brain. I feel like I have to get certain things done right away. I am agitated if I don’t.
Part of me enjoys the rush that I create for myself. The realistic part of me knows it’s a problem.
I’m hoping someone can relate? It’s one of those things where I feel like “Boo-hoo, I’m the only one” but I can’t be… right?
(Note, while I was finishing writing this, I got another blog idea in my head and had to open a new tab to start typing that out).
*Related, have you read the article titled “Your Better Half” in the January 2010 issue of Runner’s World? Great article. It’s about turning your inner critic into your biggest fan. I paid close attention to the little part about taking a day off when you don’t want to.
Themocracy
Yeah, I get compulsive about stupid things. I wish I could control it, but it rarely happens.
.-= Author’s last blog post… I’ll rush for forty yards and drink four forties later on… =-.
I am an obsessive planner. And I know it drives people nuts but I cannot help it- I am a details person!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Week In Review- Photo Style =-.
Yuppers- totally do this to. I have a strong impulse to get my to do list done ASAP so I feel like I can really breath sometimes! Totally need to work on this
.-= Author’s last blog post… Favorite TJs Products, Vegan Asparagus Soup =-.
I was thinking about almost this exact same thing yesterday!
I do this a lot more at work than at home for some reason. When I’m doing engineering work, everything has to be the same format, the same pen, the same numbering system…. When I’m at running work, I feel like I have to sort a full model of shoes before I can even think of doing something else (which is usually trying to do another model of shoes right away!)
It’s for sure not just you!
I am EXACTLY the same way. It is much less pronounced now that I have kids but I still get something in my head and can’t rest until I do it. I am the same way with food though too. If I think about something it turns into a quest to make it that I can’t let go of until I do. So yes, I totally get this. It isn’t always a bad thing I think. Sometimes it makes me determined to do things I wouldn’t have followed through on if I didn’t have this going on.
Yep, I go through starts and stops though. But lately it has been high, that is why I eneded up cleaning hte bathroom at 11 pm last Saturday.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Random happenings =-.
WOW!!! Sometimes I wonder how you sneak into my head and write about me!!! I do understand and I can totally relate to this whole post… mine is usually over my to-do list though… fun things like go to the store, cat boxes, stuff like that… and then once I’m done with whatever it is it’s almost like I look for the next thing to obsess about…. like you have Steven, I’m lucky that dc understand and humors me as well….
=^..^=
.-= Author’s last blog post… Our Motto =-.
Kim, you just described me perfectly! You’re not alone. I prefer to call it passion, but everyone else in my life calls it OCD.
.-= Author’s last blog post… The Fashionista and a Weak Run =-.
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if I was diagnosed with a mild case of OCD. I obsess about all sorts of things. One thing I can’t seem to shake is my fear of losing things, so I repeatedly check things all the time — that my license, debit card and credit cards are in my purse; that my Chapstick is in my pocket; that I haven’t lost my keys; that my travel documents are in my purse when I’m traveling. My husband and I laugh about it, but if I discover I HAVE lost something? Commence freaking the f out.
I notice I keep doing that with my train pass. I will put it away after the conductor comes by, then check to make sure it’s in my wallet once more on the train, when I get off, and again in the morning. What is the deal with that?!
You’re definitely not alone. The severity of mine waxes and wanes with the flows of life but, it’s always in me. I am one hell of a list-maker when I get going. I’m not always very good at accomplishing the entire list… only the things I’m really focused on/obsessing about… but making lists is a soothing task for me.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Photo =-.
Girl, YES, I can totally relate. I get something in my head and literally cannot focus on anything else. Like I spent hours the other day compulsively reading about and researching cast iron cookware. Today? Yeah, I like it and think it’s cool but I’m over the obsession. I’m glad to know I’m not alone. I too get obsessed with list making. In college I would plan out my day to the minute, really, not exaggerating. I’m better about that now but I still am very prone to act compulsively.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Cookware =-.
I have freaked my entire family out by my totally compulsive thoughts and impulses. I can’t drop something in my head until I resolve it, usualyl by completing the task at hand or making an 8-page list. The worst is that when I am thinking nonstop about something that I can’t resolve, I pretty much always resort to hitting the fridge!
Excuse me, how did you get in my head??
My propensity to freak out and become compulsive or obsessed with something irritates the hell out of my husband. Like, when the maintenance guy painted our walls the wrong color I practically started crying and it was really difficult for me to think about anything else until it was resolved. Jason’s all like “It’s paint. Get over it.” But I couldn’t until I knew it would be fixed. If we hadn’t already had plans that weekend *I* would have gone to the hardware store, bought paint, and done it myself.
I let my RW subscription lapse. I wonder if that article would be on the website. It sounds interesting!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Six on a Saturday =-.
You’re definitely not alone! Sometimes I can’t fall asleep until I’ve done certain things. I also can’t do any of my work until my room and desk area is completely clean. Once I get my mind on something its hard to make it stop!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Small Things =-.
I’m generally pretty easy-going, but I can get compulsive about little things– I’ve actually noticed that I’ve been doing it a lot with the blog lately…so, yeah, I should work on that 🙂
I love blogging, but I definitely don’t want it to consume my life!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Ducks in a Row/ A Green and Red Quinoa =-.
I do this a lot–I have a one-track mind and fixate on things before doing them (products before I buy them, rugby before I decided I sucked at it, looking at tattoos obsessively until I got mine, dog research, etc.) It’s very satisfying and a good way to procrastinate for me. Plus, I get the added bonus of knowing a LOT about random subjects, hahaha.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Posting while Powerpoint has a fit. =-.
I do this all.the.time.
I wonder how many ‘events’ I have ended up half assing because I am planning/concerned about the next one. or fifty.
.-= Author’s last blog post… eight miles is FAR =-.