30. Ambition
A Sales Rep With Ambition
Ambition is the abnormal longing and desire for more, even when you already have enough. As in “look at her, a real go-getter, very ambitious.” OK, let’s look at her. Why is she called ambitious? Is it something she is or is it what she does? Obviously her behavior indicates she wants something…. something more.
The trick of course is to define what enough is, to which I propose the following list of possibilities:
1. That which allows one to attain a specific outcome – go to college, take a vacation, buy a house, have money for food…
2. That required to sustain a defied level of existence – bare survival, an accustomed lifestyle, or a desired enhanced lifestyle.
3. That which is what others think you deserve or should want – almost always at least a little less than what they have.
4. More than whatever it is you already posses.
I propose here the following universal laws:
Law of Enough
Enough is inversely proportional to more and can never equal or exceed more.
Law of More
More is inversely proportional to enough.. and can never equal or exceed enough.
If and when the more you wanted ever arrives, it is magically transformed into not enough. So you want even more. If and when you get it is still is not enough. And so on…. Analogous to chasing receding mirages in the desert until the water runs out and your bones bleach in the sun.
The possibilities above can also be seen as internal and external. Look closely, only #3 begins externally but as soon as you accept another’s views and opinions. letting them override your own, they are internalized where they can affect you. This means that ambition exists only in your own consciousness. You thus have control (if you desire control which is another article).
Whether ambition is good or bad depends on who is doing the perceiving and judging. It just is. It’s a state of being. It is variable and can and does change constantly. You can be full at 1pm and hungry at 2pm. You can like your car one minute and after seeing a nicer car be dissatisfied the next minute.