Someone called me “driven” the other day and it kind of bothered me. What does that even mean. Honestly, I’m probably more compulsive than I am driven. I don’t like leaving things unfinished. It’s also true that I get frustrated when people tell me that they can’t write, or they have to make themselves write, or they need certain circumstances in their life to be able to write. In my mind, it’s something that you do because you don’t know how to make sense of the world any other way.
Is that driven?
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Betsy Lerner 
You are awesome. People are jealous because they can’t keep up to your expectations. Relax. Don’t let them pull you down. I’ve been following you for many years.
Yes.
“Is that driven?”
Webster’s says, “Yeah, that’s driven. Now get back to work.”
“… don’t know how to make sense of the world any other way.” I love you, Betsy!
Is it because it implies another driver than you? Or some lack of agency? I don’t think it was meant as an insult, but I get the flinching response.
Driven sounds like Wall Street and you aren’t Wall Street. But you want to get shit done. So drive away.
A friend once told me she had to write like she had to, excuse me, pee. So I think it’s part of a writer’s very nature. No choice. It must be pursued regardless of any external reward.
😊
I like this word better:
Any person who aspires, presumes, or feels the calling to be an artist has a built-in sense of duty. They have a duty to God, to themselves, to their gifts, to people.
– Patti Smith