I reflect on Ambition

Beware of wishing for and being driven to have what our society may paint as a universally good trait. Ambition is one that is deserving of some scrutiny.

What is it to be ambitious? Is it simply to be the best? It can be, in areas where skill can be objectively scored and people objectively ranked. An example of this is in sports where being the best, the fastest, the strongest, is reduced down to numbers on a scoreboard. And these numbers, in the right competition can directly lead to fame, riches and power completing the equation that equals to Ambition. But you are in for a world of disappointment should you find yourself in any other professional environment and you think that just by being the best, or trying your best, that that means you are ambitious.

This is because in most cases, being the best, is a worthy individual pursuit that does not rely on other people. In other words, you can work in secret, on your own and emerge the best at something without the involvement of others. Ambition however, implies having or seeking power and influence over others. Ambition can not be acquired in solitude. And to have power and influence OVER others, you have to have certain traits that enable you to establish yourself to be dominant in some way that is not because you are the best. So though there are times power and influence can come to a person honorably and deservedly, there are times they do not. For example, power and influence are often given by others who have power and influence for factors not immediately visible like nepotism or in return for other favours or leverage.

The consequence then, of pursuing ambition, is that because ambition relies on others' recognition of you, and others to deem you worthy of power and influence, when this does NOT happen (which is more likely for minority groups and women), this can lead to entitlement and resentment, anger and a feeling of being taken advantage of. In this context, these are ugly feelings because they cause you to re-evaluate and re-appraise your own worth and talent. To doubt the path you have chosen and would otherwise be proud of, and to act and feel in ways that are not true to yourself is a tragedy. Put more concisely, ambition can work against your intention of being your best.

Do not confuse ambition with being the best or working the hardest.

If we must use the word ambition to describe striving to be more than the best, to want to make a mark on the world, consider internal ambition rather than external ambition. Internal ambition being one that protects your values and the people you care about. Internal ambition being something driven by your own curiosity and belief in yourself to make a difference. Be cognizant when you are driven by external ambition. It is an easy trap to fall into. External ambition means striving to meet another person's definition of what ambition and success are, a drive that has you looking outwards rather than within.