“If you don’t want to be forgotten the moment you die,Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing…”
– Benjamin Franklin
The dictionary meaning of Ambition states – an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. Wikipedia says Ambition is the desire for personal achievement. It provides the motivation and determination necessary to help give direction to life. Ambitious people seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority. Ambition can also be defined as the object of this desire.
The last phrase in this description matters the most – object of the desire…!
How many of you dreamt to be a baker so that you can have all those chocolate cakes…
How many of you fancied growing as a coachman so that you can drive a horse…
How many of you adored Uniform guys like Police and Military for the respect and facilities…
How many of you visualized yourself as film stars for the glamour and money…
How many of you thought of Ship Captain as career since you were fond of voyage…
How many of decided to grow-up as sportsman for the name and fame and not the game…
I guess most of us had at least one of this or similar fantasy in the childhood. And I bet those kept changing, evolving with the time and the age showing more maturity and applicability ultimately summing up to making both end meets, having a home and peace at home, once a year holiday with dreams of retiring early and rich…! Am I even near to it or I got it completely wrong? I don’t think so!
Now if this is what you are going to comprehend as Ambition, I am extremely sorry. When I added Ambition to this list it had nothing to do with the florist you wanted to be or the Barber you envied for the wall-to-wall mirrors. You can refer to our SCI for this 100 Days series where you will notice universal and neutral concepts like Love, Brotherhood and Peace. Why am I trying to be so philosophical about an extremely material concept of Ambition? Well, if you have read the above paragraphs and questions thoroughly, you have the answer…!
As long as the Objects of Desires kept changing, you have never outgrown your childhood. The difference between them is more of a function and not the form. No seaman ever tries to start a voyage with an ambition of sinking but that doesn’t make it the expedition unless it discovers new shores and adds value to his endeavor by the way of which he would die in peace, fulfillment and contentment. Getting most of the fishes when you are fishing or making it the most profitable day in the stock market could be an ambition, I agree but it can never leave the person in lasting fulfillment.
So what should be the Ambition if not materialistic? I can never regard any material desire as Ambition as that would be like calling a centipede an anaconda! Whatever your mind and wants crave for you are going to get it anyway by hook or crook, but it will not do any good to anybody else than you. Therefore ambition is necessary, but good ambition only can give satisfaction, peace and happiness in life; otherwise, undesirable ambition can lead one only to madness and utter failure, which would be harmful to the healthy functioning of the society anywhere in the world whether it is in the realm of politics or science, religion or philosophy, business or economy and technology or industry.
Whatever your ambition is it should be on the lines of – One Human World Ambition. This concept would be elaborated tomorrow in our last unit of the list – Approach. Stay tuned…!
I think you are using the word ambition and aspiration interchangeably. Ambition has a negative connotation- people achieve their ambitions by hook or crook. Whereas when you aspire to become or achieve something, your actions are always guided by the highest of intentions.
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