Ambiguous Ambitions

I completed my work early today and now I'm free to indulge in my free-writing exercise for the week.  There's a long weekend ahead with Monday being a public holiday and I intend to use every minute of it productively. Posting this blog article would be like checking off the first item on my task list.

A lot of what I do is pursuing my interests in a wide variety of subjects.  I guess that's my way of 'enjoying life'.  I'm lucky that the things I enjoy come relatively cheap. A good internet connection, my library of books and the company of good friends are basically all I need. My bar to happiness happens to be set very low indeed. That very fact itself makes me happy. 

Does being easily contented make me less 'ambitious'? Perhaps. But what does ambition mean? I don't have the conventional ambitions of being successful in my career, making a lot of money and gaining recognition, nor any charitable goals of doing good to a lot of people. I am only interested in always delivering quality work in whatever I do, learning things all the time and being of value to the people that I deal with--people within my sphere of influence.

There's nothing wrong in being ambitious. If one feels the stirrings of ambition within one's breast, forge ahead! Be the top of your field, be the best in the world, acquire all that you've ever desired, pursue your dreams. There will be a lot of obstacles ahead but channelling one's energy towards overcoming them builds skill, character and resilience. In a way, that's the coursework that you have to do towards a mastery of life.

Ambition implies having specific goals in life. I guess, ambition is ego plus goals. If  you are clear of your goals, you can ride the ego like a vehicle to move towards them.  That's the way to pursue your ambitions--be clear of your goals, but keep the ego under control. Like a good driver, you must know how to tap the power of the ego engine to propel yourself forward. 

Without goals, we do not know if we are heading in the right direction. In my case, my goal is just to grow. Like a tree. A tree has no ambition, but it fulfils its purpose in life. The difference between a human and a tree is the presence of the ego. 

Ego is something natural and present in every human being. If we recognise its nature, it can be very useful. Treat it like a booster rocket. Let it help you achieve escape velocity, but discard it at the first opportune moment.

To live is to grow, in the areas that matter to you. To me, it is always gaining new insights, seeing things from a different perspective and moving forward. If they happen to result in material gains, or if an explicit pursuit of them makes sense, then I'll put my mind to it. But I'm always mindful of what I'm getting into. 

Life opens up new possibilities all the time. And being ambiguous on ambition gives me that flexibility to pursue different options. All the river has to do is flow, and the terrain will guide it towards sea.