Ambition has got a bad reputation. It’s not necessarily required to live, but having an ambition goes a long way to have a meaningful life.
As I reflect on my own life and various stages of life, my ambition has changed. It had always been there, it has taken different shapes and forms. It has stayed there. It has been key for a meaningful directed life.
As previously said, ambition is not necessary. You can live life as it comes, but then life takes you on a wind. It does make life more random. Randomness is also good. But ambition and randomness are not exclusive.
Double-Edged Sword
Even though ambition is important, I have also realized that it is a double-edged sword. Why a double-edged sword?
Too high of an ambition can make you neurotic and ignore everything and everyone around you. There is no measure of ambition. Too high of an ambition means someone is so focused on ambition that they ignore everything around them. This can be detrimental to ambition itself.
On the other hand, no ambition has no meaning in life as well. A lot of people live the life without any purpose or ambition. But that is the quickest way to lose life. A purposeless life may not be a satisfying life. Of course, that is merely an observation. It would be judgemental of me if I said there are people with no ambition. Every person has some ambition. Ambition can take any form, it does not have to be with respect to one’s career.
Balancing Act
Find a balance. That’s always harder, but not impossible. Juggling ambition and life can be challenging, but a lot of people do that one way or another. Some ambitions need to be curbed at times to find a balance in life. If you look at our ancestors (when we were hunters and gatherers), their immediate ambition (or you can say immediate need) was to be able to get food and provide for their families. Technology has played a role in raising our ambitions. Find the balancing act to live a meaningful life.