The Double Face Of Ambition: Lack And Excess
Culture has raised several paradoxes about ambition. Certain lines of thought condemn it, others exalt it. Ambition is actually one of those traits that many cannot define as virtue or defect. This is why we are talking here about the double face of ambition.
Ambition is defined as “ the intense and vehement desire to achieve something difficult to achieve, including wealth, power or fame” . At least this is the dictionary definition. The definition itself marks the double face of ambition: aspiring to achieve a difficult goal , on the one hand, and mundane goals, on the other.
However, there is another way of seeing the double face of ambition: when it is lacking or exceeding. If it is lacking, we are faced with a conformism that does not allow it to evolve and grow. We are at the limit of the lack of scruples if it exceeds. We get what we want at any cost.
Lack of ambition and conformism
We often receive messages to encourage acceptance of reality as it is. These messages invite us not to change things and to resign ourselves to them. This message can be very positive when it refers to situations involving a desire that is impossible to achieve. For example, when someone dies and we fail to accept it.
However, it can become a harmful message in other circumstances. It is usually driven by fear, by authoritarianism, or both. Human beings tend to want to be better. No to accepting things with resignation. Some lines of thought, however, choose to encourage obedience in order to control us.
Fear , lack of self-confidence, or over-reliance on outside power makes us conformists. It actually means giving up ambition. In other words, to stay with what life offers us, without trying to go beyond.
Excess ambition and greed
Greed is at the opposite end of conformism. It alludes to an unbridled desire, mainly for success or wealth. The greedy is like a bottomless barrel. He never seems to have enough with what he attains or possesses. He always wants more. He is eternal dissatisfied.
Greed is a toxic feeling. It leads the one who feels it towards real hell. It does the same with those around the greedy. Nothing stops greed because it is an overwhelming passion. It is characteristic of those who consider that “the end justifies the means”. The important thing is to get more, no matter what we have to do.
A person lets himself be overcome by greed because he feels deprived. Not that she is, but rather that she saw it that way. Anything lacking seems unbearable to him. She thinks, deep down, that having more and more will fill the void that inhabits her.
The double face of ambition
We see that there is a double face of ambition: when it is lacking or when it exceeds. However, there is a double face of ambition, depending on the motives that nourish it, the way it is managed and the ends to which it aims.
Ambition is made of the same material as that of big dreams. It is a huge force that leads to decision-making. To venture down difficult paths to achieve something we want. It is in this sense an enormous virtue because it leads people to leave their comfort zone and to demand more of themselves. Ambition is here the source from which are born great conquests in life.
It is also said that there is a double face of ambition when we talk about constructive goals, as opposed to obsessive and selfish goals. In both cases, it is a vital force driving success. However, while there is one ambition promoting laudable goals, another only wants to accumulate to exalt the ego and nourish narcissism.
It is not good to promote lack of ambition and conformist attitudes. It only feeds insecurities and devalues efforts to be better. Neither should we promote limitless desire for more. It is about learning to manage this double face of ambition, the differences of which are sometimes very subtle.
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