Melville's character, Captain Ahab, is determined to the point of obsession. While Americans tend to admire persistence, can one be too determined?

The definition of persistence by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is that persistence is the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people. On the other hand, obsession is defined as a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently especially in a way that is not normal. There is a clear difference between the meaning of these two words as is evident by the definitions.

Persistence is continuing to try to overcome hard obstacle, to do a hundred sit-ups or to run four miles consistently under 10 minutes but there is a point where persisting too much can be considered obsession. Though it is difficult to draw the yardstick and there may be many gray areas that vary from individual to individual, usually one can be considered obsessed with doing something if it is constantly on their mind and they practically drop everything for one person or one thing.

One can be too determined when one starts losing sleep over track training or not doing their homework in order to beat their personal best. If everything one thinks about is track track track and they cease to have a life outside of track then that can be considered obsession. Though it is good to have determination and while many agree that one needs determination in order to succeed, it ceases to be positive determination and becomes something negative like obsession if one is not careful.

Obsession over studies, spotting, is not good neither is obsession over weight which causes individuals to begin to have eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Many negative effects can happen because of too much determination so while it is a good thing, we should be careful to not go overboard.