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I believe in self love, in fact I have come to strongly realise how important it is to be in love with oneself, tell oneself that you are fabulous, awesome, beautiful and the best. Sounds narcissist? On the contrary, a strong sense of belief in self works as the best antidote in a increasingly self deprecating world.

There are many things that I love about myself ( and to be honest a few that I don’t love as well) but if I were to pick one, it is my inner zeal to excel at whatever I do.

I have had a fiercely competitive nature since childhood which saw the doldrums for sometime as life took turns but like heroin it possessed me again and I do realise that its a double edged sword.

Ambition can be a powerful thing- it takes you to new highs as you are constantly on the run, trying to be the best version everyday, trying to do something better, be the front runner, the torch bearer. The price to pay may be steep- you end up being flustered when things don’t really go your way and you cant achieve things , in the way and time period you have envisaged. But there are things beyond your control and true wisdom is recognising these things and not fretting over them (yet to get there completely, but this aspect is making more sense to me now)

As a working woman, I am vocal about my ambitions and career progression, I make my voice heard. That has helped me gain visibility and was one of the reasons I was chosen for an overseas assignment in Zurich which I am completely enjoying – personally and professionally as well!

As a writer, its my zeal to be the best version of myself and create something more powerful each day which is responsible for me trying my hand at so many different forms of writing and writing almost daily. Its more challenging with my demanding job and a toddler but I do try and plan out stuff and nurture my blog which is an extension of myself.

People often think that ambition is a bad thing- ambitious people are the ones responsible for causing heartburn and creating a stressful situation and there is so much more to life than achieving fame, money. But the truth is everyone wants it- who doesn’t?  Maybe a very few. Secondly being ambitious and having this constant zeal to succeed in whatever you do – is fun when you are competing with yourself.

You will burn yourself out if you start comparing your self and measuring your success in relation to others- it is futile. Not to say that I have never been bitten by the jealousy bug, but I always realise its no use as we all have a different journey. Looking at someone and envying them because they have money or have climbed the corporate ladder faster – doesn’t help you get there.  Rather you find yourself at a lower rung as you wasted time and energy over those negative emotions.

These are some hard lessons I learnt – about ambition. For ambition to be a propeller, its important to get the competition part (compete with no one but yourself) and the control part right( don’t fret over things you cant control).

I am unapologetic about being ambitious and having this bug within me that constantly urges me to do better, beat complacency and see how I could make my day most fruitful.

As I lay back in bed and think of the day gone by- something I did at work which gave me extreme satisfaction or a blog post I wrote which was well received by readers – I feel a sense of contentment and an adrenaline rush to seize the next day.

Whats that quality that you love the most about yourself? Share it in the comments section, I look forward.

Linking up with Dr Amrita and Tina Basu for #ThankfulThursdays