These obsession quotes illustrate what obsession is and what people think it means. Obsessions come in many forms; from things we are obsessed with to people that we believe we love.

However, obsession and love are not the same, despite all the obsession quotes about love. Love is something that we feel uncontrollably for another person, putting their needs above our own.

Obsession is when a person feels a need to possess or protect someone else. The difference is that they are so focused on this need of theirs that they do not recognize the wants of the other person involved. The obsessed person often cannot accept a rejection of any kind.

So, what does obsession look like? Well, the obsessed person’s feelings for the object of their affection are extremely good or extremely bad. There is no balance. They might also only focus on the positive or negative aspects of the other person, not seeing them as a real person with both good qualities and flaws.

Keep reading through these obsession quotes for more about how obsession leads to success.

Don’t forget to also check out these Contentment quotes for long-term well-being.

Short Obsession quotes

1. “Without obsession, life is nothing.” — John Waters

2. “Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters.” — Jeremy Irvine

3. “To do anything to a high level, it has to be total obsession.” — Conor McGregor

4. “Be obsessed or be average.” — Grant Cardone

5. “If you are not obsessed with your life, change it.” — Elite Daily

6. “Real obsession needs an unconscious motivation behind it.” — Damon Galgut

7. “Follow your most intense obsession mercilessly.” — Frank Kafka

8. “You’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.” — John Irving

9. “Aptitude plus obsession equals greatness.” — Josh Bezoni

10. “To succeed, work hard, never give up and above all cherish a magnificent obsession.” — Walt Disney

Obsession quotes about what obsession “is”

11. “An obsession with untold stories is a source of energy.” — Greil Marcus

12. “Obsession is the rocket fuel of our creativity.” — Jordan Ritter

13. “Obsession is a young man’s game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.” — Michael Caine

14. “An obsession is where something will not leave your mind.” — Eric Clapton

15. “Obsession is beautiful. It’s what makes art.” — Joss Whedon

16. “Obsession is the wellspring of genius and madness.” — Michel de Montaigne

17. “Obsession is an attractive thing. People who are really, really interested and good at one thing and smart are attractive if they’re men.” — Meryl Streep

18. “Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.” — Norman Mailer

19. “Obsession is a synonym for magic. Magic is a synonym for genius. It’s a knack. It’s an aptitude.” — Chris Eubank Sr.

20. “Obsession is just another round on the merry-go-round of unfinished business.” — Dale Andrews

Obsession quotes about the pros and cons

21. “The more you’re obsessed by something the better chance you have of achieving it.” — Frank Zane

22. “Good requires motivation, great requires obsession.” — M. Cobanli

23. “Until your mission is an obsession, nothing will change.” — Robin Sharma

24. “Obsession makes everything possible.” — Novala Takemoto

25. “An obsession is intrusive because it does not require a permit to walk into the brain.” — Jose A. Yaryura-Tobias

26. “Obsession is a commitment; you have to believe in it because it soon takes you over.” — Lennard J. Davis

27. “Our thoughts shape us. We become our obsessions.” — Kilroy J. Oldster

28. “An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more.” — Mark Barrowcliffe

29. “If you don’t have the mental capacity to be that obsessed about what you’re trying to get. Then you ain’t never gonna have it.” — C.T. Fletcher

30. “Passion or obsession is the modality of differentiation which conditions the possibility of a cognitive or intentional relation.” — Joseph Libertson

Funny obsession quotes

31. “I wish I knew how to quit you.” ― Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain

32. “Cure for an obsession: get another one.” — Mason Cooley

33. “Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” — Anonymous

34. “My therapist says I have an obsession with revenge. We’ll see about that.” — Unknown

35. “Obsession is a pair of blinders, and Beaumont wore his tightly.” — Mary Roach

36. “The train of thought of an obsessed person always runs on a single track.” — Evan Esar

37. “Probably I chose immortality because mortality is a universal human obsession.” — Joan D Vinge

38. “Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.” — Mark Cuban

Obsession quotes about love for him and her

39. “Imagine If we obsessed about the things we loved about ourselves.” — Unknown

40. “Love me or hate me, it’s still an obsession.” — Lady Sovereign

41. “Love is a little bit more than desire, and a little bit less than obsession…” — Milana May

42. “When love crosses limits, it becomes devotion and when devotion goes astray it becomes an obsession.” — Unknown

43. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.” — J. K. Rowling

44. “Romantic obsession is like a cataclysm breaking up the empty landscape. Like a strange exotic plant, it grows in arid soil.” — Rosemary Sullivan

45. “Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. I say fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back.” — Unknown

46. “Love is an obsession. It has that quality to it. But there are healthy obsessions, and mine is one of them.” — Pamela Stephenson

47. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” ― Elie Wiesel

48. “Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never…never forget it.” — Curtis Judalet

49. “The purpose in an obsession is to satisfy the self, not the object or person desired. The object of the obsession is relatively unimportant or is important only in relation to the one who is obsessed. Obsession is possessiveness—that is selfishness—taken to the extreme.” — Richard E. Mezo

50. “I love you so much that nothing can matter to me—not even you… Only my love—not your answer. Not even your indifference.” ― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

Passion Obsession Quotes

51. “I probably do have an obsessive personality, but striving for perfection has served me well.” — Tom Ford

52. “I desire very little, but the things I do consume me.” — Beau Taplin

53. “Your job is to get your audience to care about your obsessions.” — Martin Scorsese

54. “To do anything to a high level, it has to be a total obsession.” — Conor McGregor

55. “As entrepreneurs, we must constantly dream and have the conviction and obsession to transform our dreams into reality – to create a future that never existed before.” — Clara Shih

56. “Your ability to use the principle of autosuggestion will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession” — Napoleon Hill

57. “This is hard work. This is an obsession. We are all equals as human beings. You could be anyone if you put in the time. You will reach the top, and that’s that. I am not talented, I am obsessed.” — Conor McGregor

58. “Obsessions are psychological rituals” — Cathal O’brian

59. “We have been a little insane about the truth. We have had an obsession.” — Wallace Stevens

60. “I’m often called obsessive. I don’t think I am … but I agree that when I decide to go in one direction I really go in that direction.” — Nicholson Baker 

Short & Funny Obsession Quotes And Sayings

61. “The form is always the measure of the obsession.” — Alberto Giacometti

62. “I don’t like Paradise, as they probably don’t have obsessions there.” — Alda Merini

63. “Somewhere between obsession and compulsion is impulse.” — Alexander Pushkin

64. “Photography my passion, the search for truth, my obsession.” — Alfred Stieglitz

65. “It’s a silly thing, but I like to understand people through their obsessions.” — Amber Dermont

66. “An artist is nothing without his or her obsessions…” — Andres Serrano

67. “I wanted to make a comment on the obsession with success and failure that we see a lot in America.” — Cameron Crowe

68. “The time has come to challenge our obsession with doing everything more quickly.” — Carl Honore

69. “Obsession with self is the motif of our time.” — Charles Krauthammer

70. “Any obsession is dangerous.” — Christina Ricci

Obsession Quotes To Elevate Your Mindset

71. “These obsessions are really only ways for us to mask what we need to be feeling inside and don’t know how to feel.” — Gary Mendiola

72. “Obsessions are essentially secondary to the depression, and usually clear up when the depression lifts.” — Padmal De Silva

73. “An obsession is an idea which you must get out of your mind if you are not to go out of your mind.” — Evan Esar

74. “A man with an obsession is a man who has very little sales resistance.” — C. S. Lewis

75. “There is a point at which curiosity becomes unbearable, when it becomes an obsession, like hunger.” — Mary Roberts Rinehart

76. “Unattractive people are more obsessed with looks.” — Rae Dawn Chong

77. “Of all human weakness, obsession is the most dangerous. And the silliest.” — Woody Allen

78. “The obsession with instant gratification blinds us from our long-term potential.” — Mike Dooley

79. “I’m really obsessed with the past.” — Fisher Stevens

80. “The ruins of classic movie theaters are a personal obsession of mine, and I’ve made a couple of documentaries about it.” — Sonia Braga

Passion versus obsession

There were many inspiring quotes from successful people that seem to suggest obsession itself isn’t a bad thing. We know it isn’t healthy with love, but can it be a good thing in other areas of our lives?

I like to think that the more acceptable word for being obsessed about your endeavors is passion. Finding your passion and your purpose is a heavily talked about topic in self-development and motivational circles, for good reason.

The behaviors of people obsessed with success are things we could all practice being better at. This includes harnessing their focus and energy on what matters to them. It also means they are in a constant state of thinking and innovating so they can be better.

Another benefit of being obsessed with accomplishing something is that it often makes you a little more courageous. Sure, there will be setbacks as there are with any path, but people who feel passionate about something will find the strength to keep going or take risks.

Of course, true obsession can bring on things like anxiety and intrusive thoughts. Is this crossing the line of passion, or is the mark of successful people?

What’s your biggest takeaway from these obsession quotes and sayings? Is obsession good or bad? Let us know in the comment section below.

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