On Balancing Ambition With Patience
Gratification. How we all long for it, and lament the fact that the things we really want in life take longer than waiting three seconds for a screen to load. Oftentimes I find my head filled with the noise of my ambition, urging me forward in the quest for excellence. But it can disturb my peace, and at times does not allow me to experience the joy of the present moment. Perhaps there is a balance that needs to be found.
The Patient Enjoyment of the Present will foster the accomplishment of the goal
After much thought, I have realized that being too agitated about goal fulfillment can actually detract from accomplishing that goal. It’s the reason why many give up at the first sign of failure, and are unable to see the success that could lie ahead. By giving thanks for the experience of now, there will not be as much dismay when you see your endeavors go nowhere. It’s the mindset that allows the blossoming writer to continue mastering his craft with joy, the chef to be content with cutting his finger a few times, and the singer with making that cringe-worthy first album. It’s part of the process, but the most difficult part of it to accept.
Goal Accomplishment is a temporary high
It is the feelings associated with goal accomplishment that we are chasing, so it helps to realize how quickly those emotions fade away, and dissolve into the desire to accomplish the next thing on our list. I’m reminded of this when I remember how little I thought of getting an A in certain classes after the fact when during the semester that was all my mind was focused on. It’s true that certain accomplishments will be felt for much longer, years even, but there’s a certain part of us that will always wish that we could go back to when we hadn’t made it, to when we were struggling the most, and the excitement and intensity of our pursuit. This is what helps me to enjoy the process, when I remember that it is necessary for the joys of accomplishment to be formed.
The Struggle Builds Your Character
With the ephemeral nature of success, perhaps the true growth that comes from patient ambition is the cultivation of virtue, especially in patience and long-suffering. When you see your goals in this way, it becomes easier to detach from the accidents of winning and losing. As Rudyard Kipling put it best, it enables you to “look at triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same”. It gives you humility, when you think of the doubts, worries, and fears that you had before a goal was actualized, and allows you to sympathize with all those that struggled with the same. This mindset keeps arrogance at bay, and allows the flowers of virtue to bloom.
Next time you enter the arena of practice, and the realm of the repetitive, monotonous work vital for what you are trying to succeed in, remember to breathe and enjoy the gift of the creative process. Be an astute gardener planting carefully every seed, so that one day you may have the joy of bearing the great fruits of your patient labor.
