When They Lack Ambition

Have you ever loved someone so much and been so disappointed at the same time? I recently spoke to a friend – who hopefully doesn’t read my blog-, and she was on the verge of tears about life and how nothing was working in her favor. While I listened with a sympathetic ear, I admit I was really thinking, shut up and get up already!

I know it’s not the nicest thing to think but I have a very low tolerance level for people who complain about life and how stuff wasn’t working out for them – friend or not.  In her case – we’ll call her Lucy- she traveled to a new place for a short stay of six months and within the allotted time she had expected to save up enough money  to send back to her family and thus start a new life. Sadly she’s had to extend her stay, and for the 9 months she’s spent away from home, she hasn’t had any luck with finding a job. She was running out of money like she was running out of time.

Look, I get it. People have dreams and aspirations and while that’s all fine and dandy, a valuable lesson I’ve learned throughout the years is that luck favors a well prepared man. For something as big as a move to a new country, Lucy should have done her research. She should have thought out the worst outcome and been prepared for it. Granted, life has its own way of remixing things, but that’s what sets apart the ambitious from the not-so-ambitious.

It’s awesome when someone figures out what they want to do in life and just go for it but in reality there’s always a catch. Part of growing up is preparation for it; kind of like you live and you learn. Being ambitious doesn’t start and end at the same place. It begins at a place when one has no idea what to do. In between the memes on social media, the ideas floating through the universe and the never ending cycle of inspirational quotes, one conjures up the desire to work towards a goal. One that requires an objective and an outcome.

In the more ambitious minds, a plan formulates. At this beginning stage, nothing is certain but the feeling of purpose is strong as is the willingness to try. This person will eat, sleep and breathe their plan until it unfolds. They will fight for something with no guaranteed success at the finish line. This ambition will drive them to be around the people who will uplift and support. They will lose their mind until their heart starts to speak up and accept the challenge to push the limits. They will fight until they can say “Yassss! I did that!”

The lesser ambitious will start the same way but when obstacles start to reveal themselves, giving up is always an option. They will fight the same fight but with just a tad less vigor. What should make sense to them doesn’t and the people they surround themselves with are of the same mindset – hence they remain the same rut. They stick to the ways they know, thus sticking to the outcomes that they’re used to. They will try once every time without seeing it through; and they would fail at their life’s dream because to lack ambition is to lack faith.

So then they will search for an easier dream.

I’m not going to be the one to say I have the most ambition but I’d like to think I have some. I have enough to say that I have faith in myself that success will be my outcome. I don’t know where my writing will take me and who knows if anyone else besides my husband would read it but I will keep writing. I will keep making sense out of the stories in my head and I will keep hitting the send button to local publishers because I have enough faith in myself to understand that even if I never get a response, I would have grown as a writer. It’s tough when you’re dreaming in a world where everyone else has a dream but it’s important to keep loyal to your own. I have strayed from writing enough times to feel embarrassed about it and even while I’m still not considered a writer; you certainly couldn’t say that to my face.

In between the times that I write, I have a life I live. It involves stress, work and more stress but my dream is what drives me. It’s something I keep tucked in the folds of my desires like a secret stash of inspiration. I feel sorry for my friend who is just fed up with the way life is going but most times when people are in a rut, they’re the reason. I had to explain to her that her crying only made issues go away until the tears dried up. It’s getting up season and the only place for her to start is with herself making changes about the life she was currently living. If she tried to look for a job in the retail field, try heading to restaurants. If she was looking for day time jobs, check out the night shifts. If she isn’t able to get food on the table for the night; find a date who can – or figure out how to make Kraft taste like gourmet.

I don’t have the patience for complaints because I’m too busy trying not to complain. I want to fight with everybody I love and hold their hand just as I wish someone had held mine but reality is ugly enough to scratch that option. I love my friend and as much as I would love to give her the pity party she wanted, I had to give her the reality check she needed. Perhaps she’ll resent me for it but all won’t be lost when she’s learned from it. Ambition is what you need to create. It is the basis of success and if my mom had enough ambition to raise a level headed person like myself, I can afford to have enough ambition to make a way for me.

“Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.”  – Donald Trump