How ambition can be bad?

Ambition is something that we are expected to possess. We should want the best for ourselves and should do whatever it takes to get it. Craving success and working hard to succeed is a good thing; it is how ambition is supposed to look. However, fighting for success at all costs can lead to a dangerous and destructive path. Success, no matter the cost, can adversely affect our mental health, destroy relationships, and ultimately cause us to lose everything. 

MENTAL HEALTH

Too much ambition can lead to striving for perfection. Perfection does not exist in any of us and only leads to disappointment. Striving for perfection can cause us to feel grandiose and give the misconception that we can control everything around us. Thoughts and dreams of grandiosity take our focus away from the present and put it toward our strategically planned future. We miss all the great moments that will get us to that glorious future, so we never enjoy or feel unsatisfied with our milestone achievements. This makes us impatient, manic, anxious, and at times depressed. There is no point in achieving our goals if we can’t enjoy them, and it destroys our self-esteem in the process.

RELATIONSHIPS

The problem with the mentality “at any cost” or “whatever it takes” is that it usually entails sacrificing and compromising many things, including the people and relationships in our life. When we only focus on achieving our goals, we don’t have time for the people we love. Worse, we will feel it is justified to sacrifice these people to reach a certain success level. We find it difficult to listen to others or accept any constructive criticism. We see it as an obstacle in the way of our success and push even harder in the wrong direction. We struggle with jealousy when we do not get what we feel we deserve. If we do not push people away, they push us away because we are unbearable to be around. 

LOSING IT ALL

There is not a single person out there that became successful on their own. We have all had help from others along the way. However, when our ambition is out of control, we may climb the ladder alone, thinking others don’t care or understand. Whenever we fight alone and have obstacles from every angle, we can’t see or defend against everything. So we ultimately lose, which is the same as fighting for success and not seeing all the hurdles. Eventually, one or more problems will knock us backward, which takes us further and further from our goals. We should use our ambition for personal success and the success of others.