According to Mary Elizabeth Dean, Ambition can be a good thing, but like anything, it has its downsides. It can help you achieve your goals and create the life you want to live, but you need to watch out for something called “blind ambition.”

When you set goals and then work to achieve them, its important to make sure your life is balanced. Work is essential, but you need to also make time for family, friends, and yourself.

When I started out in retail management, it was my first real job after graduating from high school, honorably discharged from the U. S. Air Force, and graduating from college. I wanted to be successful, and I really put it before me, family, and everything else.  

I really wanted to join the Air Force Reserves. It was only going to take one week end out of the month and two weeks during the Summer. When I discussed it with my regional manager, I was told that I needed to decide whether I wanted to be a part time soldier, or a full-time manager.  I relented and did not do it.

I got transferred to a new location where the store was brand new, and I was one of the assistant store managers. While we were opening this store my father-in -law died and I did not take time off to attend the funeral.

As a matter of fact, I did not go to a lot of things with my family. All the major holidays, I was at the store and my family was all alone. Many thought my wife was lying about being married and having a loving husband.

The next new store that I helped to open was even worse. My wife was ill and needed to go to the doctor. My manager told me that I need to get one of the assistants’ wives to take her. I agreed for a moment. When I came to my senses, I told him that it was my responsibility to take her, and that I could find another job. I was treated better afterwards.

Dean further states, there are many times when the desire to achieve may override the sense of right and wrong. “When you chase your dreams and focus on nothing but the goal, you miss experiences that make life worth living.”