Ambition

Ok so it feels like I’m just plucking random words out of the dictionary at the moment and writing a whole post on em’, lol. Seriously though, what is ambition?

Definition: an ardent desire for rank, fame or power; desire to achieve a particular end.

I’ve never thought of myself as overly ambitious but like everyone I have many goals and ambitions to that I would like to fulfil in my lifetime. I feel lucky to have been provided with so many opportunities. Opportunities that my parents never had and in a way I guess I kinda owe it to them as well to succeed and be the best I can. I don’t think I’ve ever really been held back in my life, perhaps there have been some difficult circumstances where I’ve had to reconsider things, but I’ve never been held back, well at least not to my knowledge :)

Talking to a former classmate from high school, I discovered that some people see ambition differently. Upon telling him about my plans for the future, for my career, he seemed slightly taken aback. When I enquired as to why this was; he replied by saying that he had expected me to settle down fairly quickly and start my own family. I laughed and replied saying that it was the 21st century and that women were actually allowed to do both. He replied that had I been born in my parent’s era or in another country that wasn’t considered as part of the western world; then the thought of ambition would never have entered my mind. I would have assumed that having a family was the only thing that I could do in my life and that would have been my ultimate goal. Having a career or being an independent woman would not have been my top priority. I did understand the point he was trying to make but at the same time I couldn’t stop the look of disbelief from appearing on my face. How could my friend be such a sexist person? Some might say that I shouldn’t be surprised as he is a guy at the end of the day but still!

He explained that he found it hard to compete with women as well as men in the professional world. Apparently I was a major cause for concern during our A level’s as he saw me as competition and yet we still became friends, lol. He also commented that looking for a potential other half would also be more difficult as women just didn’t accept that you were the best match possible. They don’t just settle for whoever they first meet but instead think about their decisions, (heaven forbid!) :P I commented on how insecure he must feel and how a tiny part of him must now know what women have to put up with in a man’s world. I did actually laugh out loud (sensitive I know!), listening to my friend to paint such a sad picture of life. Basically my friend saw ambition as a curse for women specifically asian women I think. I know of many people, especially my fellow girlfriends that would be outraged at his point of view. I do get what he talking about but at the same time I just think that you have to move with the times. I mean the guy is in his twenties but thinks he’s living in the dark ages.

It’s funny that some people see ambition as a curse whilst some may see it as a blessing...

CASE STUDY: Athene Donald

Have no clue who she is?

This lady is a British physicist and a professor at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physics. She became the only second British scientist to become a laureate of the “For the women in science” awards. Her work on neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease showed how brain proteins could be used to contribute to the development of diagnostic tests and treatments. Physics is usually perceived to be a male dominate area of science; science in general is thought to be male dominant. Therefore had she not been ambitious in her professional life, striving to be the best then she would not have been able to achieve all that she has.

So back to the question ... is ambition a good thing or bad thing? Does it depend on what gender you are, when you were born or does none of that have any bearing on it?