Being driven is most often a good thing. If you’re highly motivated and wish to continue improving every day, being a tad obsessed about Jiu-Jitsu is going to get you extremely far.
However, there is such a thing as being overly obsessed about BJJ. And there are certain dangers correlated with it… Here are some of them.

BEING TOO OBSESSED CAN LEAD TO BURNOUT

First of all, if you truly enjoy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you need to be careful about becoming too obsessed about it.
But why? Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t it be that, if you love doing something, that you’re supposed to let it consume you entirely?

There’s some truth to it. You can’t stop something you love from consuming your mind, if even for a bit. But if you let it consume you entirely, you’re probably not going to have a great time.
You’re not going to have a great time simply due to the fact that you’ll experience burnout from thinking and being invested into BJJ so much. If you think about it all the time, if you don’t sort of „dose“ it in a tactical way through a longer stretch… You may end up falling out of love with it.

Just think of it in terms of any healthy relationship. No matter how much you love the other person, would you like them to be around you all the time? Non-stop?
If this were to happen, you’d probably get irritated with them after a while. And after some more, you’d probably not want to spend any time with them whatsoever.

Don’t let that happen to your Jiu-Jitsu.

FAILING TO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE

If you’re too obsessed about something, you’re probably not seeing the bigger picture. Think back to the times when you were madly in love with someone and failed to see their flaws so much that, one day, those same flaws smacked you in the face with full force. They left you bruised and thinking: „What in the world just happened?“

What just happened was that you failed to see the warning signs of not behaving properly (or the significant other not doing so). If you took a step back and observed the situation from a more objective standpoint, you’d figure out the ways to improve the relationship before it was too late.

Same thing with BJJ. If you’re always „in it“, you won’t be able to exercise your objective judgement. You will not be able to figure out where you’re truly standing with your skill level, and you’ll probably get injured with time as well.
You need some time and space away from the mats. At least if you want to become the best that you can in Jiu-Jitsu.

FALLING OUT WITH OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE

Be realistic and answer the following question: are you aiming to become a world-class BJJ athlete? An academy owner, or maybe a world-class coach?
If the answer is „no“ (and, if you’re being honest with yourself, it most probably is) – then why are you letting Jiu-Jitsu consume your thought process so much?

There is no need for you to sacrifice as a Jiu-Jitsu professional if you’re not one. Your life is constructed out of many more components than just BJJ; your family, work, friends… And if you let BJJ infiltrate your mind too much, too often – these parts of your life will start suffering. And they will suffer by a whole lot.

Take your foot off the gas for a second. Think about your BJJ obsession – about whether or not it is good for you.