Ambition & Contentment

Finding the appropriate balance between ambition and contentment is the secret to a successful career and life for that matter.  I have often heard professionals talk about contentment in a pejorative manner shaming it as if it were the enemy of ambition and a solid work ethic.  They speak as if it is the hallmark of the lazy, undisiplined, and uninspired.  However I do not see it that way.  I believe they should go hand in hand like the Tai chi symbol for Taoism which is better known as the yin and the yang individually.  If you are never content, you are never satisfied and most likely never celebrating successes which is a part of life that is just too valuable and enjoyable to miss.  You end up being in a perpetual state of chasing the unattainable, not because success is unattainable, but because you yourself make it so.  True success results in periods of blissful contentment.  Otherwise results include burning yourself out and those around you and being a general stress ball constantly striving and looking for perfection.  Let me help you out here.  True perfection does NOT exist by its very nature.  No man is perfect and no act by man is ever perfect.  THAT is the nature of man.  As a part of his “Man In The Arena” speech deliver in Paris in 1910 Theodore Roosevelt said, “because there is no effort without error and shortcomings”.   He could not have been more correct!  Strive for excellence and when you achieve it, ENJOY IT for the fleeting time that it exist.  Yes, you should build on your successes and try to always be learning and competing with your old self, but these concepts have their limits.  Try not to forget that.  That balance between ambition and contentment is not only different for all of us, but also a moving target for all of us individually as we travel and matriculate through life.  Happy hunting!!!