How to keep your ambition in check

When you formulate a goal, focus on the behavior that will lead to the achievement of the goal, and not the goal itself. Ambition is very important in life. Goals should be driven by the ability to discover yourself and strive to achieve your purpose. However, there is a growing trend where most people tend to be overambitious. So how then can you differentiate between a healthy and a dangerous ambition?

True ambition requires deep courage. To put yourself and your ideas out into the world, in the hope of what you are working hard for will be well received by the world. But in most cases, overambitious people are increasingly experiencing bouts of anxiety. Unfortunately, many people do not realize when these aspirations are becoming overburdening and resulting to anxiety.  Anxiety from being overambitious is mostly characterized by work-related insomnia. Sometimes stress will stop you from eating and sleeping as required. You may also notice that you do not have time to spend with family or friends. This is a sign that you are on the verge of burnout. This does not end well for most people. Burnout is followed by lack of motivation, inability to concentrate and sometimes sickness. In spite of all the goals and determination, you may end up not doing anything due to anxiety.

See 4 ways to know that your positive ambition has turned into a negative drive;

1. When it is more about your ego than the meaningful work that helps others: All of us have some ego involved in what we do, but when your primary drive is all about yourself it has negative consequences for yourself and others.

2. When it is more about your insecurity than contributing to others: people who are primarily driven by insecurity, trying to prove something through their work & achievements move into negative ambition very quickly.

3. When the way you are outworking your meaningful work is hurting your health: You can feel very confident that what you are doing is primarily driven by helping others, but you engage in it in a way that significantly sacrifices your health. You will not notice these sacrifices in the short term, only in the long term when it will take much effort to get back on track.

4. When the way you are outworking your meaningful work is hurting your loved ones: Many people don’t notice they are making this mistake until it is too late. Relationships require consistent investment to grow. If you are constantly putting your work before the needs of your loved ones, you will one day find yourself “successful” but lonely and regretful.

Motivation is not a synonym for ambition. While you may have an aspiration, it may not always translate to motivation. Aspirations without motives are occasioned by overwhelming and overbearing targets. The first step towards being in control is checking the validity of your goals in the first place. For instance, you may need to ask yourself questions like: Do I own them? Do I want to be part of this process? Am I able to achieve this? How is it going to be achieved? If you can answer these questions satisfactorily, then it is safe to chase your dreams.

Always be on top of your game. The pressure to impress other people should never be incorporated into your aspirations. In most cases, people’s expectations will clash with your beliefs. Ambition should be self-driven and measurable. Choose your belief over impressing people. Truth be told, it is dangerous to live without ambition. But it is also equally dangerous to let that ambition control your life.

Begin at goal setting stage. First, as you lay down your ambition make room for change. This does not mean that you should come up with mediocre goals and targets for your work and life. It simply means that sometimes we are not in control. And however much we may work hard, some things will not go as planned because of external factors that are completely out of our control. Learn to accept these changes. It will be easier to move on and makes amends on how to catch up with your goals.

Have a mentor. There is one person that you always look up to who have success stories today. They had to begin from there without necessarily stopping. Learn to talk to yourself more because this will be a source of motivation and soul searching. Appreciate little steps that you make in life. In the end, they sum up to create the ambition.