A few
weeks back a colleague said to me, “I admire how ambitious you are.” Her words
stopped me.
“Ambitious? You see me as ambitious?” I was puzzled. I never
thought of myself in that way, so I had to ponder what she meant by that.
I
turned to my internal dictionary and thesaurus — the one my grandmother had
drilled into me as a child by insisting that I learn the list of spelling bee
words she tore out of the Sunday paper each week.
Ambitious: a go-getter, power-hungry, zealous. That’s not me. Determined. Hmm. Determined. Now that
is me. I am determined, purposeful,
motivated, and an enthusiastic learner. I am an achiever.
This
got me thinking about what is achievement? Achievement is the experience of
accomplishment, of attaining the goals you set for yourself. While ambition is
the chief driver of achievement, it seems to me they are variables in the
equation that equals fulfillment.
Fulfillment is the achievement of something
desired, promised, or predicted; it is the feeling of satisfaction or happiness
as a result of fully developing one's abilities or character. You may have all
the success and money in the world, yet be internally bankrupt and feel that life
has no meaning.
Fulfillment is accomplished by two things:
continuous growth and continuous contribution beyond oneself. It comes from
living a life of meaning, of significance. Achievement, however, is pleasure; achievement
is of and in the moment.
In my studies in strategic intervention, I learned
that the strongest drive in human beings is the “drive for fulfillment, and
that all human beings share this need to experience a life of meaning and
purpose.” (Robbins-Madanes) Fulfillment can only be achieved when we focus our
lives on the need to grow continuously, and the need to contribute beyond
ourselves in a meaningful way.
My desire to
grow continuously and to contribute beyond myself in a meaningful way is
fueled by an inner ambition to do so.
Perhaps my colleague was right. I am ambitious.
