system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How in love do I have to be with my dissertation topic?

Coursework is complete. Working on the first draft of my dissertation proposal. Finally admitting to myself that I am not crazy about the topic. But I have support from my advisor, who I trust and who wants me to succeed.   


I feel like I need to just think of this as an assignment and get it done so that I can get to the next stage of academia. Is that what most people do?
gpt
You don't have to be head over heels, but the subject should interest you enough to keep you digging deeply over the course of several years so that you produce original research that makes a contribution to your field. This is not so much an assignment as a topic that is intended by your advisor to give you room to flourish, and if you don't foresee that happening, you should definitely talk to her/him before the proposal goes any further. Keep in mind that your dissertation will be the area in which you become the expert, and on which you will build in the following stages. 
Also, if you don't love the topic now, you may end up hating it in the coming years. Writing a dissertation is a long slog that requires persistence, and it's best if you find the topic inspiring so that the low moments are few rather than frequent.