I feel like my bf is taking over my passion and co-opting it. Am I being too sensitive and personal about it?

[Maya]

My BF tends to start things and never finishes them. I supported his decision to start making Iphone Apps and actually help pay for a lot of the expense but it never got done. Then he took on the cause of solar energy and that lasted all of two months but I still was there when he wanted to meet with businesses and look at classes etc. Then there was this whole social media thing which again lasted maybe 3 months. I am a Masters student and I'm dedicating my research to an environmental cause. I have been working on this issue for over 6 years and have made great connections. The other day he met one of my idols who was also an employer of mine and had a chat about the issues we worked on. Somehow the next day he created a twitter account and is now 'advocating' for it. I feel like this is another hobby he picked up and it belittles everything I work for when he thinks he can just adopt it like its a sweater. Yes, in a sense I'm being elitist, but I believe in thinking before you advocate, especially with social media where people can come back at you and you have to be educated to respond. I don't assume that I can speak on behalf of electric car issue just by seeing a documentary. I love that he's intelligent and supports what I do. But somehow I'm uncomfortable with it. I'm being territorial and I dont know why. Am I being irrational? pls help.

[?]

Your boyfriend has add. He also sounds very stupid.

I would feel the same way you do.

[Breath on the Wind]

There are certainly many sides to this issue. Perhaps you are only seeing one of them. It is part of who you are in the business environment that you want to be taken seriously. Perhaps you feel that it is easier for him to step in almost automatically receive the kind of respect you have to work at.

You are not going to get around this issue by wishing it were different or begrudging the state of the world or your relative positions within it. Rather you might try and notice what opportunities and advantages a good understanding of the situation might present. You won't be able to do that while being upset or arguing with "life."

Another aspect you may not entirely see is the possible that imitation is truly a form of flattery. You have worked to make something of yourself. The payoff for this is not simply contacts or a position within an industry. You should begin to feel that secure in the method of your learning. Take pride in what you have accomplished. Take his imitation as a form of admiration.

And yet another... The two of you represent two classic personality types. You will slowly work at something for years building from a solid foundation, one stone upon another for a solid and secure structure. You follow your discipline. He is likely to start with a picture of the finished project and then lose interest because in his mind it has been completed or start somewhere in the middle. He follows his inspiration. You can pay the bills, but he can make you laugh. You want to be sure but he has flashes of insight.

And possibly a darker side... without any of the above being untrue there is possibility for the situation to degrade into not a cooperative effort with each appreciating, admiring, and supporting the others skill set, (yes with love) but a competition where each leg is tiring to prove that it is the stronger. If you question your capacity to make this kind of relationship work then it may be best to find a new relationship rather than try and make a weak one work.