I sometimes think about the BBC hit TV show Sherlock Holmes. The first three seasons are some of the most brilliant TV I’ve ever seen. In that show the way Sherlock works is inspiring to me. This is a guy who becomes obsessed with cases, he paces, takes copious amounts of nicotine, and plays the violin. He chews on problems. Then suddenly it clicks. The missing piece comes to him so trivially that it seems random and lucky. It never is though, he consistently solves cases others can’t.
Some of that is talent and raw intelligence, but some of that is trained. We see later on that Watson picks up some deduction skills. Sherlock had trained him just by working cases with him. It can be deduced that this deep obsessive work is what leads to breakthroughs.
This is inspiring to me but also scary. I’ve been obsessed with things before, but never to the extent of Sherlock. Can I even reach the points of obsession I’ve been told I need or will I turn away. Can I reach my dreams through obsession or am I not capable of such things? Also, how many people have gone crazy through obsession. Victor Frankenstein was obsessed with creating life, and look what happened to him. Is there a line in the sand? I hope so because I don’t want to be required to be obsessed to be successful and then later watch myself do something abhorrent .
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