The Two Sides Of Ambition

Ambition is paradoxical. Some schools of thought condemn it, while others praise it. It is, in fact, one of those qualities that we are not sure whether to classify as a virtue or a defect. That’s why we decided to talk about the two sides of ambition.

Merriam Webster defines ambition as ‘an ardent desire for rank, fame or power’. The definition itself shows the two sides of the word. On the one hand, the desire to achieve a difficult goal. On the other hand, trivial goals.

There is another way to see the two sides of ambition: when someone is too ambitious or not ambitious enough. If you’re not ambitious enough, just get on with your current reality.

It will be difficult for you to evolve or grow. If you are too ambitious, you may do unscrupulous things. You might decide to go for what you want regardless of the cost.

Lack of ambition and conformity

Society sends out messages that encourage people to accept things as they are. They tell people not to try to change things and just acquiesce in the current situations.

This can be a positive message if the thing you desire is impossible to achieve. For example, when a loved one dies and you don’t want to accept it.

However, in other circumstances, the same message can be harmful. Usually this message comes from fear, authoritarianism, or both. Man naturally strives to be better. We are not alone in our fate. This message comes from movements that want to promote obedience. That makes it easier to control people.

Fear, lack of self-confidence, or over-reliance on an outside power can make you a conformist. In other words, you give up your ambition. You hold on to what life offers you and you don’t try to get anything else.

Greed

At the other end of the spectrum is greed. Greed is all about boundless desire and covetous success and fame. Greed is like a bottomless pit, because what you have never seems to be enough. You always want more and more. If you are greedy, you will never be satisfied.

Greed is a poisonous feeling. It drags you to hell and also takes the people around you down. Greed doesn’t stop at anything. Greedy people believe that the end justifies the means. The main thing is to get more and more. It doesn’t matter what you have to do to get it.

People allow themselves to be taken over by greed because they feel that something is missing in their lives. It’s not necessarily that they’re really missing out. That’s just how they feel. They can’t bear to miss something, no matter how small it is. Deep down they feel that one day this will fill the void they feel inside.

The two sides of ambition

You can see now that there are two sides to ambition. You can be too ambitious or not ambitious. However, this also depends on the motives that drive your ambition. How do you regulate it and what is your end goal?

Ambition and big dreams are made of the same material. They both involve a huge effort and difficult decisions. You have to take risks and go unfamiliar roads to get what you want. In that sense, ambition is a virtue. It takes you out of your comfort zone and inspires you to do more. It is the source of important achievements in life.

The two sides of ambition also have to do with your goal. Is your goal constructive or obsessive and selfish? In either case, you need strength to achieve your goal. However, they are not the same.

If your goals are admirable, your ambition is positive. If all you want to do is make yourself look good and feed narcissism, then it becomes a shortcoming.

Encouraging conformity is not good. This only feeds insecurities and devalues ​​people’s efforts to do better.

However, it is also not good to incite people to uncontrolled ambition to get more and more. The key is to learn to balance the two sides of ambition and understand their subtle differences.