Savouring the here & now while pursuing your ambitions

Contributed by - Ms. Arushi Suri (Council member)

Mr. A is a really ambitious man. People consider his hard working and ambitious nature to be his USP. Flashback to 2 years ago, he set a goal for himself, “I want to become the manager of the team I’m currently working in”. After 2 years of extra hours at the office, cancelling all socialisation plans and meagre work-life balance, he has achieved his goal. He felt ecstatic the day he was appointed as the manager of the team but slowly started to realise that achieving the goal didn’t make him feel what he expected to feel. The ecstasy did not last that long and this made him grieve the 2 years he spent in tunnel vision towards this goal. 

Ambition! A strong desire to achieve something. It’s what energises us in life, what keeps us going and makes us feel proud of ourselves. Being ambitious is a great quality to have, don’t get me wrong. 

But something that I’ve learnt in the past couple of years and that Mr. A’s story teaches us is the importance of savouring the here and now while we pursue our ambitions. 

Media, these days, is filled with narratives like “shut out the rest of the world if you want to achieve your goals” or “it is natural to feel isolated once you start focusing and giving time to your goals”, not paying attention to the intricacies of this kind of mindset. Sure, it will speed up the pace of you reaching your goal, but the real question is how long can such a mindset last? Will it be good on your mental and physical health?

Without dragging it any further, what this article is trying to convey is “to enjoy the journey while keeping an eye on the destination”. 

It is beyond great to have ambitions in life, it is what fuels us but it is equally important to learn the skill of striking a balance between putting in efforts to achieve our goals while also giving time to things that make us happy in life, the little joys. 

Mr. A, now realises that maybe he could’ve attended that gathering at his best friend’s place, gone to the park to soak some sun with his family on the weekends or spent time more time with his wife and still achieved his goal. Maybe then, he wouldn’t have felt, mentally and physically, so exhausted by the end of it.

To look around and enjoy the beauty of life, to engage in activities that are done purely to make us happy, to sit in silence, to spend time with our loved ones, along with having a clear focus and working towards our ambitions, is what is called “striking a balance”. 

Of course, achieving what we aim for, makes us feel extremely satisfied in the moment but what if we could feel that satisfaction throughout the journey of moving towards that goal. This is what happens when we strike a balance.  

So, gear up! Be ambitious, set your goals but don’t forget to schedule time for things, people and activities you love. That is how one can feel truly content in their life.