THE JOY OF OBSESSION: WHY GOING ALL IN MATTERS
Rediscovering the happiness and health found in caring deeply about something
When I was a kid, I became obsessed with building a recording studio.
I wasn’t in a band. I couldn’t sing or play an instrument. But none of that mattered. I spent every free minute sketching layouts, saving money, and piecing together gear in a spare bedroom at my grandma’s house. There was something magical about watching this idea — this thing that lived in my head — slowly become real.
The fun wasn’t in what I made. It was in making it.
That same obsessive energy shows up differently now as a dad — whether it’s getting lost behind a camera or building Lego cities with my son. The medium changes, but the magic of going all in remains.
Looking back, that little recording studio was my first lesson in what it means to go all in on something.
As an adult, it’s harder to do that. Life gets full. There’s always something else asking for your attention — work, kids, texts, dishes, the endless scroll. But every so often, something sneaks in and pulls you under. For me, it’s been running. And photography.
It starts small. A jog around the block. A new camera lens. Then suddenly you’re tracking mileage, reading about aperture, staying up too late watching tutorials. You start caring about things you didn’t even know existed — heart-rate zones, shutter speeds, the right kind of socks.
And here’s the thing: it feels good to care.
There’s something deeply satisfying about giving yourself over to something that doesn’t ask for it — a hobby, a show, a book. In one Harvard research study, adults who regularly engaged in hobbies reported better health, more happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction. It turns out that caring deeply isn’t childish or frivolous — it’s healthy.
Another UCLA Health review found that hobbies can boost mental, cognitive, and even physical health, especially when they combine creativity, movement, or social connection. Whether it’s running, painting, or woodworking, we’re wired to feel better when we give our energy to something that matters only to us.
I think that’s what I’ve been chasing all along — that feeling I had as a kid, lost in the details of something that didn’t have to matter, but did.
Maybe for you it’s something else. Cooking. Gardening. Collecting vinyl. Rewatching The West Wing just to hear that music swell before the credits. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. It just has to make you feel like you.
Because in a world built on half-attention, going all in is a quiet act of rebellion.
It’s saying: I’m still capable of caring deeply. I can still be obsessed. I can still build something just because it makes me happy.
Go all in on something.
Not because you have to.
Because you get to.