Drive
In the world today, there are a lot of people who find themselves drifting through life without really ever shaping it themselves. I’ve personally known people who have not cared enough to do anything about their life or the direction it was going. Trends like this one cause broken families, broken hearts, and broken dreams. The antidote is simple: drive and ambition.
In this article I want to explain 4 reasons you should have drive and ambition in your life.
A backpacker climbing large rocksA backpacker climbing large rocks
Before we go on, there are 2 items of housekeeping.
1.Let me define drive and ambition in the context of this article. What I mean is the desire to try harder, or do things differently in order to improve your life in any aspect. It could be at work, home, or anywhere. That’s what I mean for this article.
2.Before you go on, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. I come out every week with a new episode on Mondays and Thursdays. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Now, let’s talk about drive.
- More Fulfillment
Even though this is the most selfish reason, you shouldn’t forget about this one. By having more drive and ambition, you will naturally ask for more from yourself and from life.
You will naturally have less complacency.
This allows you to constantly be striving and accomplishing more out of life. This will give you more fulfillment. We aren’t here to be live lavishly. Instead, we find the most fulfillment when we are challenged correctly and we push ourselves.
Many people have asked it before, but if we were only to have pleasure, then why does eating junk food leads to decreased health and wellness? If we are only to enjoy spending, then why do we feel buyer’s remorse or need to constantly buy?
No, we are meant to live by balance and trial.
A young boy playing JengaA young boy playing Jenga
Let me give you an example of this.
In space, if you were to go out without a pressurized suit, you would die. Not only because of the lack of oxygen, but because there is no external pressures, the liquid in your blood would basically evaporate because the boiling temperature would lower so quickly. That would put air bubbles in your bloodstream. While having no oxygen would kill you faster, being exposed to vacuum will harm you just as well because of the lack of external pressure on your body.
By having more drive, you are naturally wanting to climb, going against the natural tendencies to be lazy, complacent, and uncaring. This gives you a sense of fulfillment. That’s why you should have drive and ambition.
- Improved Capability to Give
People who have drive usually have more resources and capabilities than those who don’t. The idea here is to use your drive to create a better life for yourself. Doing that often allows you to build skills and generate resources that will help you in serving others, and giving back to the world.
Let’s use a different example.
Imagine you are out camping with people from your neighborhood. You are on a 15 mile backpacking trip and you are at least 7 miles out. Now, let’s say that a young boy somehow breaks his leg and there is no cell service to call for help. You or one of the other adults will have to either carry the boy or his pack. If you had the drive and ambition to improve your physical condition, you would be in a better position to offer help in this situation.
A man pretending to lift a big boulder.A man pretending to lift a big boulder.
Another example.
Your sister and brother-in-law are down on their luck and need some help financially. They aren’t asking for handouts, but they don’t have work. If you have been able to build relationships with many people your ability to help them find a job increases as does the probability of their finding a suitable employment.
You see when you have a drive to make your life better, you are often more capable of helping others.
- Improved Perspective
But will you help others? I believe yes.
When it comes down to it, I believe that if you nurture your drive and ambition correctly, you extend to all aspects of your life. You won’t be complacent emotionally or spiritually. If you do it correctly, then you will have enhanced perspective. Hopefully this helps you feel more gratitude and appreciate what you have.
Creating this kind of perspective will help you choose to help others. You’ll remember the hard times you’ve gone through and you’ll feel compassion and sympathy for those less fortunate than yourself.
A man staring over a long distance.A man staring over a long distance.
If you do it right, you’ll also feel a better connection to people around you, and not just people you know. You’ll recognize that you are a member of the human race. You’ll recognize what things in life bring hollow pleasure, and what things brings lasting joy and fulfillment.
Develop a drive that drives you toward a balance fulfillment. This leads to enhanced perspectives.
- Sets a Standard for Others
When you have drive, it creates an example for others to follow. I think we can all say that none of us like seeing someone who is lazy and has no direction in life. We criticize complacency in others, if not in ourselves.
By developing a strong sense of drive and ambition we help show others that they can do the same thing. We aren’t saints. We’re just normal people trying to improve our lives at every juncture. They can too.
A person holding a leafA person holding a leaf
Unfortunately, there are people that find themselves past hope. They might believe that no matter what they do, they can’t improve their life or their situation, that they can’t find joy or fulfillment. Develop drive and help them find hope again.
In Italy they say, “La speranza e’ l’ultima a morire.” Translated, that means hope is the last to die. Help others keep their hope alive by being a living example of it. Show them how to have drive and ambition and show them that they can improve their life.
Obvious?
I hope that the reasons I’m proposing aren’t too obvious. Likely, there will be people who will think, “Duh…” but for the rest of you, I hope you think about drive and the parts of your life that you aren’t being ambitious enough. There are certainly parts in my life that I catch myself sinking into the same complacent sinkhole where my potential rots and turns the fossilized remnants of my broken dreams.
So go and increase your drive.
A man doing pushups on concreteA man doing pushups on concrete
Action steps:
You didn’t think I’d forget about the action steps did you?
Today, they are simple:
1.Identify one area of your life in which you can try harder:
Example: For me, it is in my relationship with my wife.
2.Identify one way to try harder in that area.
Example: I am working on going on dates with my wife every week
3.Do it.
If you liked the article and found value in it at all, share it on social media. Reach out to us and tell us what you thought. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.