"Shut up and be grateful for what you have!" Why are we trained not to be ambitious?

Question

“Be grateful for what you have!” This is often said in response to a person who expresses a desire to achieve more. Why are people who desire more seen as ungrateful for what they have? Why are people who have done well for themselves often spoken ill of, as if they have sinned by EARNING more?

Answer 1

The point of life is to experience joy and be in happiness, and thus to truly be happy with one's own existance, it'd require that they are happy with their own life experiences. This does somewhat imply that one should not desire, because it's the desire that creates missatisfaction with one's own current position which in turn gives force to the motivation to attain something better for oneself. So I'd take it with a grain of salt and look at it like this, Be Grateful for what you have, and Intend something more from life. I usually find what one believes deepest in their heart or mind from intention to be the reality of things, usually comes to pass. So if you're grateful for what you have and believe, truly believe that you're destined for something more, then the whole entire universe as you experience it through your perspective will be working with you until that thought is made aligned with one's own perception of reality. It's simply how I understand life from years and years of believing that emotion was actuality, rather than simply protein peptides driven in our cells to try to influence us in a way that our primitive nature finds suitable to ensure our survival. From my vantage point, Perspective reality is more important on a personal level than actuality. So when you're able to see through your own emotions and drives, the ramifications are awesome. I usually find that those who have acheived great things are usually haunted by another emotion in others. Jealousy. I could be nearly 100% positive that if the people complaining themselves had acheived a similar level to that whom they're complaining about, the horse would be of a very different color. In a way, telling someone to be grateful for what they have is a way of stating that they are not capable, or likely to attain, anything more and should thus accept their fate. It's a good thing then that there are people that do realize that the sky is the limit when it comes to most anything. Albert Einstein once said, imagination is the preview of life's coming attractions. So I say, Find joy in what suits you, and never worry of the rest.

Answer 2

I consider myself a very ambitious person, but I understand that the phrase"Be grateful for what you have" , is sometimes correct becouse ambition has caused many great tragedies and disasters in this world.Many times with ambition comes greed and desire to get whatever we want even if it means hurting another person terribly. Be greatful for what you have becouse someday you can loose all that , those who dont have should be the ones with the greater ambition.

Answer 3

Er, Americans are never trained to be unambitious. We're in fact so "ambitious" we have chronic stress disorders and never get to see our families.

You don't seem to understand the problems with the concept of "earning." Do you think doctors' and lawyers' work is so much more valuable than the local factory worker's or even teacher's that they actually _deserve_ and _earn_ all the money they make? I think not. Does the "hard worker" always get what s/he deserves for said hard work? Rarely. Workers sell their souls to men sitting around in business suits in some New York high-rise. The enormous pay inequities Americans experience cannot possibly be justified by a person's "better education." They are the result of a generally *******-up system.

Answer 4

Well, there's a thought process that some believe in that says, if you are always seeking something, you can never be satisfied and that causes the person to suffer. To be thankful for what you have means that although you may have more tomorrow, there is no promise that tomorrow will even come. We only hope that there will be.

If you are thankful now, it means you can have the satisfaction of enjoying what you have and still keep having fun and dreams.

Answer 5

This is one of the great questions of life, and the great spiritual and moral traditions have arrived at divergent solutions to the problem. Clearly, in most of the West, ambition IS a positive value. There is a basis for this in the Judeo-Cristian tradition that holds that man is agent of God's Creation, co-Creator, responsible for himself and having dominion over the earth and its creatures. I realize this ("dominion) is not currently PC, but I believe it provides the foundation for the achievements of Western civilization.

In the East, on the other hand, Buddhism, Hinduism and the other great Eastern traditions are more centered on enlightenment, letting go, detachment.

What I am getting at is I question your premise--we ARE trained to be ambitious. Certainly gratitude is also a value, but it is not paramount, and it does not preclude ambition. If someone says "Shut up and be grateful for what you have!", it seems to me they are likely exhorting a complainer to stop complaining, as opposed to a striver to stop striving.

Answer 6

Some ambition is good, but unbridled ambition brings unbridled difficulties because you will never be satisfied. Satisfaction with your accomplishments brings peace of mind which brings all kinds of benefits.

Its kind of a tired cliche, I agree but its really just reminding people that there is a time for ambition but there also comes a time when we should be satisfied with what we have. It also reminds us that we do indeed have 'Mountains of Things' (Tracy Chapman song)

Answer 7

LOL the innate selfish nature of the individual commenting. If you achieve more their will be less for others. The person commenting being one of the others. So said. It is in his best interest to stop you from achieving more. Be it from a subconscious or conscious level.

Answer 8

Dont feel guilty for wanting more.

Greed is a good thing. It causes one to create wealth for himself as well as wealth in the opposite directions to those he trades with.

Without greed you have poverty. You have laziness and a lack of any prosperity.

Read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
It will validate all the feelings that you are expressing.

Answer 9

IT'S THE "SHUT UP" PART THAT BOTHERS ME. BEING GRATEFUL IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, IT MEANS YOU ARE HAPPY, YOU ARE CONTENT. HOW CAN YOU TEACH SOMEONE TO APPRECIATE LIFE, WHEN YOU ARE SAYING SOMETHING UGLY, DISRESPECTFUL TO THEM? IT'S GOOD TO HAVE DREAMS AND DESIRES, IT'S BAD TO BE GREEDY. IT'S ALL RELATIVE...

Answer 10

Good Question. Good Luck.