The promise of a better tomorrow can replace the satisfaction of today. It's easy to take your unhappiness with your current condition and mistake it for ambition. Ambition is the drive to work towards an achievement that brings you closer to your definition of success.

The promise for tomorrow

Satisfaction is associated with the fulfilment of your desires. Happiness is the state of being happy. Or simply put - happiness is a temporary state of mind. It can quickly come and go. But satisfaction is a long-term feeling you must build through achieving goals.

Happiness ≠ satisfaction

Happiness is a state of mind. Many people think that being ambitious takes away from the present and reduces one's happiness. Ambition is not the same as aspiration. Ambition relies on character traits, while aspiration comes and goes.

Happiness and ambition

<img alt="Omar Soliman" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*GFA8AQW7DTCtWyxGbSpPrA" width="28" height="28">The tightrope between satisfaction and ambition is tricky. Often, the promise of a better tomorrow overrides the satisfaction of today; it’s very easy to mistake ambition with an innate unhappiness with one’s current condition.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*Gv5jNotOzbhDqStOQvxKtw" width="680" height="680"></figure>What is ambition? How does it differ from complacency? And does it encourage unhappiness?*Thanks for boarding Soliman sailing, this ship is headed straight to uncertainty and self-discovery. Sailing time is an estimated eternity, but times may vary*<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">First off, what’s ambition?</h1><BLOCKQUOTE>A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. ~ Dr. Google</BLOCKQUOTE>At its core, ambition is the drive to do something. That ‘something’ differs from person to person, but the underlying principle remains: working towards an achievement that brings you closer to your definition of success — whatever that may be.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*7HST1BC6X4IpEtJo6co6nw.jpeg" width="680" height="651"></figure>Realize that the definition of ambition is not confined to material things, often, people are ambitious to attain non-material things (ie. feelings of fulfillment, etc)<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Happiness ≠ satisfaction:</h1><BLOCKQUOTE>Be happy, but never satisfied ~ Bruce lee</BLOCKQUOTE>Happiness is very different from satisfaction; satisfaction is associated with the fulfillment of one’s wishes. Whereas, “happiness is the state of being happy” (using a root word of a definition in the definition should be illegal).In more simple terms, happiness is a momentary experience that can quickly appear and disappear — a state of mind. Conversely, satisfaction/enjoyment is a long-term feeling that an individual must build over time through the achievement of goals, etc.The fundamental meaning of the quote: happiness is essential regardless of one’s current condition, but satisfaction should be something you build up over the course of your life as you pursue goals that bring fulfillment.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*BDFkwegrqT0oLJt07bcj8g.jpeg" width="680" height="341"></figure>The goal being that at the end of your life you look back, satisfied and content with how you navigated through the bumpy and often surprising road of life.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">The clear window that you can never quite see</h1>The danger of satisfaction is complacency or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements. In many regards, complacency is an anti-mindset because it prevents an individual from taking progressive action.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">🧱 The Wall of Catastrophic Calamitous Complacency</h2>Think of complacency as a massive brick wall, behind the wall, an army is plotting to take down the wall. You sit on the other side of the barrier comfortable, complacent with your current state/condition. You hear noises behind the wall, but it’s unclear what’s happening so you sit and wait complacent of your current circumstance — uncritically content. Eventually, the army breaks down the wall and you’re run over by the sudden rush of soldiers, you scramble to position yourself and fight off the soldiers but you’re caught off guard so abruptly that you feel overwhelmed until eventually you’re buried under the gleaming metal of the soldier’s shields.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*ef0PsLKKDZpXZ-Nxz_6K4g.jpeg" width="680" height="907"></figure>In many ways ambition and complacency are antonyms — ambition being a drive to attain/achieve more and complacency being a feeling of contentment with one’s current conditions that in turn limits hard work and the pursuit of goals/objectives/ideas.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Does ambition encourage unhappiness with one’s current condition? 🚀</h1>Happiness is a state of mind rather than a process, many people believe that constantly being ambitious and striving for more takes away from the present and therefore reduces one’s happiness with their current condition.Often ambition is confused with aspiration. Ambition is more pervasive, it relies on certain character traits, whereas, aspiration is more situational— it comes and goes. Ambitious people constantly find new challenges and goals to pursue.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">🦄 TL;DR</h1><UL><LI>Ambition is not necessarily rooted in the pursuit of material things but rather the pervasive drive to pursue a goal(s)/achievement(s)</LI><LI>Happiness is an integral part of gratitude, acting as a momentary state of mind, satisfaction on the other hand is the act of fulfilling desires and ultimately feeling that you’ve done enough.</LI><LI>Like a disease, complacency creeps into life in the form of uncritical satisfaction and a lack of incentive to thrive and confront challenges.</LI></UL><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Central message:</h1><BLOCKQUOTE>Striving for more doesn’t entail an unhappiness or ungratefulness for things a person may possess now, but rather a knowing and hope that they can accomplish and do more later down the road.</BLOCKQUOTE>Thanks for making it here, I hope you enjoyed the article! Don’t forget to follow if your interested in reading more of my writing 😁

Striving for more doesn't imply that you are ungrateful or unhappy. It's hoping you can accomplish more with time.

The tightrope between satisfaction and ambition is tricky. Often, the promise of a better tomorrow overrides the satisfaction of today; it’s very easy to mistake ambition with an innate unhappiness…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

The tightrope between satisfaction and ambition is tricky. Often, the promise of a better tomorrow overrides the satisfaction of today; it’s very easy to mistake ambition with an innate unhappiness with one’s current condition.

What is ambition? How does it differ from complacency? And does it encourage unhappiness?

*Thanks for boarding Soliman sailing, this ship is headed straight to uncertainty and self-discovery. Sailing time is an estimated eternity, but times may vary*

A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. ~ Dr. Google

At its core, ambitionis the drive to do something. That ‘something’ differs from person to person, but the underlying principle remains: working towards an achievement that brings you closer to your definition of success — whatever that may be.

Realize that the definition of ambition is not confined to material things , often, people are ambitious to attain non-material things (ie. feelings of fulfillment, etc)

Be happy, but never satisfied ~ Bruce lee

Happiness is very different from satisfaction; satisfaction is associated with the fulfillment of one’s wishes. Whereas, “happiness is the state of being happy” (using a root word of a definition in the definition should be illegal).

In more simple terms, happiness is a momentary experience that can quickly appear and disappear — a state of mind. Conversely, satisfaction/enjoyment is a long-term feeling that an individual must build over time through the achievement of goals, etc.

The fundamental meaning of the quote: happiness is essential regardless of one’s current condition, but satisfaction should be something you build up over the course of your life as you pursue goals that bring fulfillment.

The goal being that at the end of your life you look back, satisfied and content with how you navigated through the bumpy and often surprising road of life.

The clear window that you can never quite see

The danger of satisfaction is complacency or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.In many regards, complacency is an anti-mindset because it prevents an individual from taking progressive action.

🧱 The Wall of Catastrophic Calamitous Complacency

Think of complacency as a massive brick wall, behind the wall, an army is plotting to take down the wall. You sit on the other side of the barrier comfortable, complacent with your current state/condition. You hear noises behind the wall, but it’s unclear what’s happening so you sit and wait complacent of your current circumstance — uncritically content . Eventually, the army breaks down the wall and you’re run over by the sudden rush of soldiers, you scramble to position yourself and fight off the soldiers but you’re caught off guard so abruptly that you feel overwhelmed until eventually you’re buried under the gleaming metal of the soldier’s shields.

In many ways ambition and complacency are antonyms — ambition being a drive to attain/achieve more and complacency being a feeling of contentment with one’s current conditions that in turn limits hard work and the pursuit of goals/objectives/ideas.

Does ambition encourage unhappiness with one’s current condition? 🚀

Happiness is a state of mind rather than a process, many people believe that constantly being ambitious and striving for more takes away from the present and therefore reduces one’s happiness with their current condition.

Often ambition is confused with aspiration. Ambition is more pervasive, it relies on certain character traits, whereas, aspiration is more situational— it comes and goes. Ambitious people constantly find new challenges and goals to pursue.

<ul><li>Ambition is not necessarily rooted in the pursuit of material things but rather the pervasive drive to pursue a goal(s)/achievement(s) </li><li>Happiness is an integral part of gratitude, acting as a momentary state of mind, satisfaction on the other hand is the act of fulfilling desires and ultimately feeling that you’ve done enough. </li><li>Like a disease, complacency creeps into life in the form of uncritical satisfaction and a lack of incentive to thrive and confront challenges. </li> </ul>

Striving for more doesn’t entail an unhappiness or ungratefulness for things a person may possess now, but rather a knowing and hope that they can accomplish and do more later down the road.

Thanks for making it here, I hope you enjoyed the article! Don’t forget to follow if your interested in reading more of my writing 😁

The Complacency Mechanism

The promise for tomorrow

Happiness ≠ satisfaction

Happiness and ambition

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