Finding that inner fire can be life changing
What does ambition mean? By definition its our inner most desire and passion to achieve something great. And it can be anything, it can be breaking addiction, setting an exercise routine, or achieve the impossible.
Ambition is one of those things that everyone possesses. Even before we were born, when we were nothing but anisogamous cells trying to find the oocytes, the only thing we had was ambition. From the very beginning, we were fueled with determination and desire to get to our goal.
It didn’t matter the obstacles in front of us. It didn’t matter the danger; the only thing that mattered was getting to that egg so we could develop in that embryo and become one of the most complex and intelligent beings in the universe.
When we are born into this world, we are born with this unquenchable curiosity that can only be satisfied by our ambition to learn and grow. But, as we get older, something happens to us. When we have peaked our curiosity during our formative years and without realizing it, we lose something precious within us. But how do we find it? And that’s what we are going to explore.
What Is Ambition
Ambition is more than just some urge to do something great with your short time on earth; it’s instinctual. We can slap definitions and titles on words all day, but to get the true meaning of these words we have to explore it further, especially for something as important as ambition and not rely on textbook definitions.
And what I mean by that is we have to find that meaning within ourselves. The purpose of ambition will be different for everyone, and that’s the beauty of it. What I may find ambitious may be different for you, and vice versa, but you have to be honest with yourself.
Often times we are not; we lie to ourselves more times than we care to admit. Our brains are lazy; we are wired to think nothing is wrong constantly, nothing needs to change, and we should keep on course in our life because why? Because that’s the easiest route to take.
However, that’s where ambition comes in. It comes in the form of a wrecking ball, a breakthrough to the 4th dimension, and most importantly, it gets you off your ass to do something significant. Regardless of what ambition means to you, it’s a call to action. And you need to find what that calling is.
How to find your calling?
- Get creative – find out what makes you happy, get active, read, and try new things.
- Be honest with yourself – you will have to face your fears, weakness, and vulnerabilities.
- Stop caring about failure – failure happens; it’s a way of life, but it’s also the best teacher.
- Have a support system – a little help from friends has a value that can’t be priced.
- Just get up and go – stop making excuses and just start growing
Why is Ambition Important
Ambition drives us to do anything in life we have stated before; it’s instinctual; whether you realize it or not, we do it every day. However, we can categorize ambitions to being minor and major. So how can we define minor ambition? Minor ambition, in this case, doesn’t mean insignificant or a lesser degree of importance. It’s essentially a way to describe how little energy it takes to accomplish something. But how would we describe major ambition? Major ambition is not the opposite of minor ambition; on the contrary, it requires a more significant degree of energy to accomplish something.
Minor Ambition
Minor ambition is essential; it’s what keeps us going mechanically. Everyday when we awake we get up, we are determined to do something that will keep us nourished like eat, hydrate, and sleep all the basics that is required for us to keep living. We do these things without even thinking about it that’s why they are considered minor.
Major Ambition
Major ambition is more complex and requires more energy and intuition to succeed. It involves significant life changes which can contribute physically, mentally or both. However, basic ambition may fuel our basic needs to survive. Major ambition fuels our soul to thrive and elevates us to become a more superior person than we initially were.
How To Act on your Ambition
Capturing your ambition and acting on it is going to be subjective to each individual, there isn’t a one size fits all answer. But be thankful for that, generalizing something as important as your own ambition shouldn’t be the norm.
Some people do really well with constructive criticism, some are great with positive reinforcement, and others need to be told how shitty they really are for them to actually tap into their inner fire and find that spark that can catapult them to find their calling. Below is a list of step that can help you find that spark.
- Experiment and see what motivates you to be better
- Find your calling
- layout a game plan to succeed, be realistic about your abilities and what you can handle
- Get rid of all distractions
- make it your lifestyle and fall in love with it (get obsessed with it).
When you actively engage with your ambition, it’s normal to have ups and downs in your commitment levels. Not every day are you going to be able to go full-steam ahead like a freight train trying to get to its destination.
It’s essential to recognize your achievements and shortcomings each day and understand that it’s all a part of the process. Doing the best that you can every day is the essential thing; if that’s moving an inch or a mile towards your goal is all that matters. But remember, always strive to be better.
Conclusion
Life is a journey none of us has the answers to it, but what each individual can do is enjoy the journey and take in where it takes us. We should strive to learn and grow everyday, we might be accustomed to growing pains, but that’s a necessary part of life. And taking responsibility for our actions and owning up to that is the only ticket we have to true ambition. So, Love yourself, be better for yourself, and find what motivates you to make the best out of life. And when that ambition hit’s follow it, and never look back.
Book Recommendation
Ambition: For What? by Deborah L. Rhode
Ambition: For What? is a book that explores the concept of ambition and what it means to different people. Ambition is often thought of as a positive trait, something that drives people to achieve their goals.
However, ambition can also be negative, leading people to push themselves too hard or to take risks that they might not otherwise take. The book examines the various sides of ambition and looks at how it manifests itself in different people’s lives.
Ambition can be a force for good or for bad, depending on how it is used. The book provides readers with a better understanding of this complex topic so that they can make more informed decisions about their own ambitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the two types of Ambition?
A: There are two types of ambition intrinsic ambition and extrinsic ambition, they are both ambitious qualities, however they are different.
Intrinsic ambition: is the motivating ambition that comes within yourself and your abilities to succeed. For example, you may have ambition to lose weight for yourself because you want to be healthier in life.
Extrinsic ambition: is the motivating ambition that comes from others such as friends, family, or love interests. For example, you may want to lose weight for a competition with your friends, or because your family is urging you, or there is someone you are attracted to that you want to impress.
We all have these types of ambitions and both are very effective, however, intrinsic ambition will always be more sustainable.
Q: What is Ambition like?
A: Ambition is the desire to do something that you feel is great in life and that you are committed to succeeding in that desire.
Q: Is Ambition positive or negative?
A: Generally speaking, ambition is positive. However, because ambition is linked to a commitment to trying to achieve something great, it can form excessive habits that are generally negative. For example, to achieve something, people may feel the need to obsess over the achievement by overworking, not sleeping, and not keeping to a healthy schedule with sleep, eating and exercise.