AMBITION: Being Eagerly Desirous

Ambition. What is it? An earnest desire for types of achievement or distinction, such as; power, honour, fame, or wealth and the willingness to strive for its attainment. I live to succeed in whatever I do. I live to gain the marvellous feeling of doing well in something whatever it may be, or doing something which helps another person to feel at ease. However, being an ambitious person who is always striving for success does come with obstacles. I have never been at the top of any of my classes. Nor have I felt the astonishing feeling of getting 100% in any tests I have taken part in. But, I do still believe that I can work towards these goals and eventually I will pursue them. 

Martin Luther King Jr once said ‘’ if you can’t walk then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward’’. I believe that this is a extremely powerful quote, that in times of distress we should always think of. The ability to be perfect and achieve everything that you have ever wanted is unreachable for anyone. Although we may not be perfect as human beings, we can strive to be the best people that we could possibly be. I have been in many situations when I thought ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘how will I ever do this’ but then I have come to the realisation that thinking in that way will never get me anywhere. I want to achieve, pursue, make myself and others proud, but how will I possibly do those things if I don’t believe that I can?

Being ambitious is the act of being eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth or a specific goal. Whatever it may be that you are doing, you should try to put in all your effort and work and it will definitely lead you to success. You should never have to think that just because you are not outstandingly perfect at a certain thing, that you will never be able to do it. We live in a world where we are encouraged to be the best we can possibly be and always look forward to the positive aspects of our lives. 

Be ambitious

AMBITION: Haiku

AMBITION: Another Definition

Ambition is often understood as the strong desire to achieve or do something in the future. for someone to fulfil their  life to the fullest they have to have inspiration, ambition and motivation . These three words are all dependent on each other they are like three steps if one did not happen the next one would not be possible, if you had no inspiration you would have no ambition or motivation. I want to be a physiotherapist in the future for a  big sports team or individual athletes. This all started with my love and passion for caring for others and sports which inspired me to want to do this job. My ambition would not become a reality without motivation and my motivation relies on the desire to do this job. Nothing in life is served to you on a plate you have to work to fulfil your dreams and desires. Athletes are inspired by their love of a sport to become a professional and then they have ambition to fulfil that dream and then the ambition and the desire and determination motivates the person to make it a reality. Some people find it harder to have an ambition but everyone has ambition somewhere but they just don't know it. Without ambition what will become of the future no one will have the desire to fulfil their dreams they will just do something for the money not for the enjoyment or pleasure. Even people who have a troubling life will still have ambition for things such as a better future. Ambition is different for everyone and not one person will have the exact same ambition or meaning of the word. 

AMBITION: The State of my Ambition

“A dual national is not considered a foreign citizen under Israeli Security Service Law and is subject to a mandatory military service according to that law”

You were first in my grandparents’ dreams,

and where I first dreamt, generations later.

Now our dreams have turned to nightmares;

though you are not the traitor

For through it all, you are still mine.

And in blue envelopes, I see your calls.

Occupying my birthday greetings, you remind me:

I am still yours.

Just like you, I am unhealthily

divided. I know your enemies are unjust.

Yet the crown, we dreamt you wearing,

has slowly turned to rust.

I will only fight in my mental war,

You shall not place weapons in my hands:

Till I can visit my Jerusalem,

In my fair and pleasant Land

AMBITION: The Search

When I am asked simply what my ambition is I always say that I genuinely don’t know, so I decided to look into ambition in more depth.

The definition of ambition is “a strong desire to do or achieve something” it can also be described as “determination to success and to set yourself a goal.” Ambition is a dream in other words. Having dreams is essential to achieving success, but you won’t get there just by dreaming. Being ambitious is a skill you develop over time and requires hard work, persistence, and most importantly, a strategy.

Understanding ambition is one thing but finding it is another.  Many people wonder, “How do I find/get an ambition?” It’s actually not as complex as you would think. You need to focus on what you can gain instead of what you might lose and just have more of a positive drive about you so remove “I don’t feel like it” from your vocabulary! You can also set specific goals that are reachable and realistic.

Being ambitious can be very dangerous as it links to “hope” which is very misleading. It’s always good to set yourself goals but don’t set too many or too difficult goals as if you fail to reach them it will be disappointing. However, if you are extremely determined on a certain goal you can achieve it, you just need to work hard and be consistent on your method to reach the goal.

I am yet to find my ambition and therefore I will keep seeking for it.

AMBITION: A Source of Happiness?

Does ambition make you happier?

Heidi G. Halvorson, an American social psychologist and author, concluded from her studies that setting your goals high and being ambitious makes you happy. However, ambitious people are likely to be wealthy and high achievers but not necessarily happier than anyone else.

Social scientists make frequent references to ambition, without ever properly explaining the concept. In response, Timothy Judge, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, studied data tracking the lives of more than 700 individuals over seven decades, attempting to determine a better understanding of how ambition can motivate us.

The results surprised him. There was a stronger than expected connection between ambition and career success. Nevertheless, those who were successful in achieving their ambitions were not proven to be more contented or to live longer. Moreover, those whose achievements failed to match their ambitions proved to die earlier and lived less happy lives.

Ambition is not only success, it is gratitude for what you have, a quality which often seems forgotten by society. Ambitious people need to remember to stop for a moment, think about everything they have accomplished and be happy with that.

AMBITION: A Definition

What is ambition? It is defined by the Oxford dictionary as being “a strong desire to do or achieve something”. This is true but I believe it is a far too simple approach to the question as there are different types of ambition, for example, in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus, Julius Caesar’s murderer, Antony seems to suggest that being ambitious is a bad thing as he says “Brutus says he [Julius Caesar] was ambitious” conveying it is his reasoning for having murdered Caesar. The other type of ambition is a positive one; striving to making something better or to improve oneself on a reasonable scale. This is because I think what Antony’s message in his speech is not solely that being ambitious is a bad thing but that ambition can be dangerous because one can be ambitious for an unrealistic goal meaning they will try achieving it being unsuccessful and doing all that is possible to complete their goal thus making a very dangerous form of ambition. Another, more recent, example of this type of ambition is Hitler, his terrible hate and ambition to destroy all those he saw as inferior to the “perfect” German race, he achieved great power in Germany and created an ideology that at the time seemed a solution to everyone’s problems. But, his unrealistic goal manifested itself as the systematic murder of over 11 million innocent men, women and children. There are many more examples of this throughout history that show all the damage that the bad form of ambition can do however there are also positive examples of ambition that, although they make less of an impact on the world, make it into history. The reason I say the negative form of ambition makes more of an impact is because it is a lot easier to be destructive on a massive scale than being progressive and moral on even any significantly large scale. A relatively recent result of positive ambition was the creation of the state of Israel fuelled by the great ambition of Theodor Herzl. Herzl was inspired by seeing a soldier being accused of spying simply because he was Jewish and it gave him the ambition to create a safe haven for all Jews. His ambition now means the Jewish people have a homeland where they are protected by a country and are safe from persecution. So, to define ambition, ambition is not just simply a binary question of either having it or not, rather, it is a deeper question that shows itself throughout history as people are influenced by an inspiration to become ambitious either positively or negatively. Therefore, I believe the true definition of ambition is; “the choice that is made to either be destructive or progressive when one is given an inspiration”.

AMBITION: The Killer Character Trait

Ambition- apparently the key ingredient to any successful person’s mindset. Ambition is the difference between the students in your class that always wants to be the best at everything they do and the students who don’t really mind taking their time and generally being average. But is it always a positive characteristic?

Ambitious people can sometimes be thought of as being dissatisfied, as they have such a strong desire and determination to reach their full potential.

Some countries look down on ambitious people, a Japanese proverb states: “The nail that sticks out, gets hammered down”.

Nassir Ghaemi (a professor of psychology and pharmacology at Boston’s Tufts Medical Centre) says that the more self-esteem one has, the more likely they are to be ambitious as they believe that they are able to achieve more.

Furthermore, people in Western nations believe that outgoing people with high grades are also very ambitious. These people care about whether or not people view them positively. On the other hand, introverts don’t mind how they are viewed and therefore aren’t as ambitious. It is also believed that if you have a successful family history you may be more ambitious as it’s expected of you to achieve high standards.

Are these judgments fair? Do they really represent ambitious people? In my opinion when you are ambitious, you just want to succeed, is there really any shame in that? Why should you follow the crowd? There is only one you and if you don’t believe in yourself and if you don't try your best, nobody will do it for you. Ghaemi says this about successful business people:  “They have to be really well liked, but they’re also conformists. They’re not especially creative, they’re not super productive and they’re not especially innovative. They just need to be committed to the institution.” Ironically, this statement about ambition goes against what I believe.

However, ambition is necessary as a ‘stepping stone’ into the world. Too much or little of this ingredient can ruin the cake, you need just the right amount to rise.

AMBITION: A Mindset

When I was naïve,

No bigger than my spaceship,

I was going to be everything.

I was going to be a fireman,

An astronaut, a princess, a pirate,

I was going to be everything.

When I was interested,

No bigger than my school bag,

I thought about being everything.

I was going to save people in a fire,

Visit a planet, live in a castle, sail the seven seas,

I thought about being everything.

When I was cool,

Just as big as my ego,

I didn’t want to be anything.

I was going to pass my exams,

Travel the world, sleep all day, discover myself,

I didn’t want to be anything.

When I was sensible,

Smaller than the world,

I wanted to have everything.

I wanted to have a mansion,

Drive a Ferrari, Have a perfect family, Get a good job,

I wanted to have everything.

When I was realistic,

A small, conscious being,

I knew I aspired to have and be

More than I needed or could possibly reach.

Despite my varying- some strange- premonitions,

What maintains my curiosity is always ambitions. 

AMBITION: War Sonnet

Ambition sonnet:

(Iambic pentameter: 10 syllable per line but does not follow stressed, unstressed rule)

From a young age that strong desire burned

To be a brave soldier I simply yearned

It was nineteen-eighteen I saw them home

From the front trenches where they once did roam

Those young soldiers experienced so much pain

Many young men did not make it home again

But twenty-one years later the “Hun” was back

World War Two was my own chance to attack

Maybe it was understanding I lacked

Because anger and revenge had me backed

As my comrades’ luck ran out and they fell

I realised that war is but pure hell!

My ambition for a soldier was no more

I was later killed on Omaha’s shore

AMBITION: A Great Test

To keep Ambition is a great test,

It starts from the day you flee the nest.

You wake up everyday, and wait to begin,

Take every challenge on and hope to win.

To keep Ambition is a great test,

Taught from a young age to try your best.

By 15 GCSE’s grab you by the bars,

All that pressure to get 12 A stars.

To keep Ambition is a great test,

Take what life can offer and start to invest.

It’s your first day in the office, filled with fear,

Ambition kept you going, now your employee of the year.

To keep Ambition is a great test,

To be able to desire shall make you feel blessed.

Paying for School, cars, parties and more,

The loss of hope rots you to the core.

To keep ambition is a great test,

To say to your mum “no more working, just rest”.

It sometimes hard but its all for the best,

To keep Ambition is a great test.

MOTIVATION: Musings

Running faster than the bullets of a gun

Running faster or work will be undone

I will work hard, yet they will work harder

Though I cannot let that break my ardour 

Motivation, it is needed to survive

To eat, to breathe, and yet not just to thrive

Rising from bed, a difficult feat

A day without apathy would be incomplete

Motivation, so hard to find within

Yet to be without it, a deadly sin

So don’t go bury your head in the sand

It won’t be there, as I understand

Ironic, insight coming from myself

But I should follow it, and that is heartfelt.

AMBITION: The Path to the Success

Ambition is what keeps you going. Even when you seem to fail, you get up, dust yourself off and attempt once more to achieve. Though your goal may change, your aspiration will enable you to tackle any obstacles that may be in your way.

At this point in time, I aspire to become a forensic psychologist. My ambition motivates me to work hard and achieve the necessary results needed to reach my goal. However, if you had asked me ten years ago what I aspired to be, I probably would have said a ballerina or a vet.

As you grow older, people influence you, your knowledge expands and new opportunities arise. These factors tend to cause a change of heart. We all have a long list of things we currently want or previously wanted to accomplish. This list is forever changing and expanding but the desire to achieve remains constant. This desire is ambition.

No ambition can be accomplished without hard work, perseverance and determination. As Bill Bradley, ex basketball player and politician said, “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” This statement will always be relevant and applies to everyone. Success is not a straight path, it has twists and turns and challenges all the way along, but once you reach the end of that path, the result will be most rewarding and 100% worth it.