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.
