Why is it that some people seem to make it far in life, have clear goals and vision, have dreams they go after, and seem to be constantly moving forwards, where others seem to be either directionless, jump from one interest to another, waste time in life, get bored quickly, or generally don’t know what they want to do in life?
Well, it’s very possible they have a very clear aim in life, and, if asked what their ambition in life is, they would be able to say “my ambition in life is…” and follow it up with a clear and concise answer.
This knowledge of what their ambition in life is drives them forwards in life with energy and vigour. It keeps them on focus and gives them meaning in their life.
With that ambition, with that drive, with that meaning, their lives become exciting and interesting. They are unlikely to get bored or ponder on the meaning of life because they know what drives them.
This essay on ambition will explore the importance of having an ambition in life and gives tips on how to find your ambition in life.
So let’s get to it!
What is ambition?
Having an ambition in life is the idea that you have something you really want to go after. This could be considered your dream(s) in life or your goal(s) in life. Ambition is something you really want to achieve. It’s often something that means something to you in a way that is hard to define in words.
An ambition is something you really want to go after. It is something that drives you. Ambition sees you through when things get hard or boring because ambition gives you energy.
When you have an ambition to achieve something, you often work tirelessly and diligently towards that because the ambition in and of itself is enough to keep you pushing forwards.
An ambition shows itself when you are faced with potential road blocks, obstacles, objections from others or the outside world, and yet you still go for it anyway.
Ambition gives people meaning in their lives. It is something to go after, something to aim for, something that means something to you on a deep level.
Your ambition in life doesn’t need to be something that is important to anyone else. An ambition in life is a very personal thing, and what is important for you to go after might not mean anything to anyone else. In fact, they may look oddly at you for your ambition. But as long as you believe in your ambition, and it is something you want, then that does not matter.
An ambition in life could be to become a doctor, a famous actor, an astronaut, to provide free energy to the world, to restore habitats for wildlife, to end world hunger, etc. Your ambition in life can be anything that means something to you, that you really want to go after, that gives you energy and keeps you moving forwards.
So when thinking about this, think about what you want and what drives you. Don’t worry about anyone else in answering “my ambition in life is…”.
Why it’s important to have an ambition in life
It’s important to have an ambition in life because it gives you something to aim for. Having an aim in life gives you energy and something to strive towards.
Having an ambition in life keeps you focused on a goal you want to attain. That goal can give your life a meaning beyond the normal realities of day-to-day life.
It’s important to go through life with energy, courage and determination because we have one life to live and we should live it to the full. If you have an ambition in life, you can be sure that you are taking advantage of this life you have aren’t wasting your life.
What having an ambition in life will give you
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up every day with the drive and ambition to move towards something you really want in life? How would it feel if you woke up with a clear vision of what you wanted and you had the total energy to go after that?
Having an ambition in life gives you focus and determination. It gives you a great purpose to get out of bed every day and go after your goals with vigour and positivity.
This motivation gives you a reason to be alive that goes beyond yourself. We all have a purpose in life, we just need to find it. We have something that we can give to the world, to society, to those around us, to the future.
Wouldn’t it feel great to know what your ambition in life is, what aim you have for your life, and be able to go after it with full courage and determination?
This way of living will mean that you start to excel in other areas. When you have an ambition in life and go after it with your full energy, you will also find that you start taking action in other areas of your life. When you start to go after things that are important to you, you will also find that you want to achieve other things or help society in other ways.
You will likely also find that your confidence and feelings of self-worth grow. When you can look someone in the eye and say “my ambition in life is…” and answer it with clarity, energy, and confidence, that will give you a feeling of self-assurance that will make you feel good about yourself and help you to achieve in other areas of your life.
When you have a clear ambition in life, and you go after it, people will look up to you and respect you. You will respect yourself. And those things will help you achieve more in your life than you would without that courage and determination.
The dangers of having no ambition in life
Without having a clear ambition in life, you run the risk of not living life to the full. When you have no clear ambition in life, it’s very easy to get pulled in directions you don’t really care about. If you don’t know where you want to go, inevitably you end up doing things in life as a reaction to what is going on around you instead of in response to what really drives you.
This is the difference between living a life of reaction vs living a life that is proactive. Living a proactive life is one where you determine what you want to do, and you take steps that are actively in service of that. Reactive living is where you do things based on what is going on around you or what others want from you. Reactive living can often feel very stressful and overwhelming, whereas proactive living helps you to feel more like you are in control.
When you have no clear aim in life, or no ambition, no goals, you tend to be reactive to the world around you. You tend to respond to what other people want and to fears. You tend to have no real focus and make decisions in the moment rather than in advance. You will likely have more of a chance of regretting some of your decisions if you live reactively, rather than knowing that your decisions always serve you in some way, whether or not they have the outcome you want, when you live proactively.
This can lead to you ending up in a place in life that doesn’t really mean anything to you, or to a place where you are not living to the fullest potential of your life. You could start questioning what the point of life is, you could have regrets about your life, you could hate your job, or generally feel like you are wasting your time.
But, worse, you might not even know why or how to fix it. If you have no ambition in life, you won’t know what things to look out for that will help your life or give you direction. And then you run the risk of being stuck in a rut or generally feeling down about life.
How to get an ambition in life
We are not designed to go through this life without meaning, just doing whatever falls in front of us without a reason. That is a potential path to a limited life that could lead to regrets and feelings of disappointment. Frankly, it’s risky to go through life without any ambitions. You risk getting to the end of your life wishing you did more with your life. You risk massive regrets in life if you don’t have ambitions.
I believe we are put on this planet to live life to the full, to achieve our greatest ambitions, and help others to achieve great things in their lives.
That is certainly one of my ambitions in life. I want to be a film director, writer and actor, and I want to help other people go after and achieve their dreams.
I have been fortunate to work out what my ambition in life is, but many people don’t know what their ambition in life is. If that is you, do not worry, because you certainly can find out what your aim in life is.
And you don’t need only one. As I said above, I have a few ambitions in life, although, in some way, they are all wrapped up together as a group. But it is totally okay to have multiple ambitions, as many people do.
Try not to get too stressed about this right now. You can start the process, keep working on it, and figure out your ambition in life over a matter of time. And your ambitions can change, too!
What do you find insanely interesting or fun?
A great question to ask when figuring out what your ambition might be is to ask yourself what you enjoy most in life. What do you find insanely fun or interesting? What do you like to spend your time reading about, researching, or watching videos about?
What do you like to do in your spare time? What do you look forward to doing the most? What are some things you like doing, where, if you don’t do them, you feel a sense of loss?
What do you get obsessed over? What do you enjoy talking about?
Is there anything in your life that you can’t stop thinking about? Is there anything that people around you say you are obsessed about? What do you find yourself talking about to people the most? Is there anything you WANT to spend your time being obsessed over?
What would you choose to do with your time if you didn’t have to worry about money or anything else?
If you had no worries in life, like paying rent, working a job, health concerns, limitations of geography, etc, what would you do? Would you be a musician? Would you travel the world? Would you volunteer in a third world country?
If you can cut your fears about the world out then this will seriously help you to come up with answers. Fear is a massive roadblock to having clear thoughts, and that is why it is important to be able to ask yourself what you would do if you had no fears in life. Generally, this is one of the most reliable ways to figure out what your ambition in life is.
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
As above, this is another question to ask yourself which involves stepping around the fears that naturally come up. Sometimes we know deep down what our ambitions in life are, but fear of failure gets in the way. This fear of failure can stop you from fully connecting with your ambition or from starting on working towards it. It can even make you believe that you don’t really want that thing after all! But this is just fear talking.
Interestingly, this fear can also be really useful in answering what your ambition in life is, because often the thing we fear the most tells us what is most important to us. Think about it – if you fear that you will fail at something, the thing you fear failing at probably means an awful lot to you.
So what do you really want to do but get scared over? What do you want to be really good at? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? If you knew would succeed, if you had total confidence, what would you do?
This is a very reliable way to figure out your ambition(s) in life.
If you still don’t know how to answer “my ambition is…”
These questions will help you to figure out what your ambition in life might be. But if you still don’t have an idea of your aim in life after writing these down, then the best thing you can do is go and get more life experiences.
Get out in the world and try new things. If you think you might like to work in a certain field, for example, go get some work experience in that field. If you think you might want to help endangered animals, go try working with animals. If you think you might want to make a movie, go and make a low-budget film.
And if you still don’t have any ideas, try meditating on it, or try getting away on a personal break away from the world, technology and distractions, to, as people say, “discover yourself”.
My ambition in life essay – Conclusion
Human beings have a need in life to feel like they are growing. If you are not growing you are dying. Having an ambition in life gives you something to aim towards, something to achieve. All the while you have something to aim for, and are actually going after that, you are growing. You will feel good about yourself and like you have a purpose, clarity, and meaning. Having an ambition in life gives you confidence, resolve and energy, and this will make you want to do even more with your life.
Having an ambition in life is exciting! It gives you meaning beyond words and helps you to be the best person you can be. Having an ambition helps you to live life to the full!
In short, having ambitions in life and going after them will make you feel truly alive!
So if you are interested in living life to the full, to living a life with meaning, to living a life that excites you and makes you feel alive, spend some time thinking about what your ambitions are or what they could be. Then start the process of actually going after them!
And if you know what your ambitions in life are, why don’t you write a short “my ambition in life essay” and post it in to the comments below? It would be great to hear what your ambitions in life are. And, you never know, you might even help other readers figure out what their ambitions in life are!
Further Reading
If you would like to read more about this topic in general, check out this post on how to find your aim in life and this on why you need a mission in life.
Your ambitions in life are very likely related to or the same as your dreams in life. Check this post out if you are wondering if you should follow your dreams in life.
If you hate your job and are stuck in a rut with it, knowing you have greater ambitions in life, that post is for you.
Reading this post, you may feel like you don’t know what means a lot to you yet or who you even are at your core. That’s okay! You can figure it out, and it’s important you do. Check out this post on why you should define yourself, why you should define who you are at your core.
It’s important to try and minimise your regrets in life. If you are currently feeling regret over things in life, then this post on living with regret is for you.
If, reading this, you really don’t know what to do with your life, this post will help you to figure out what to do with your life.
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