Why ambition could make you rich

Indeed, literature often contains characters and themes that tell universal truths about human existence, experience — and psychology. As the novel progresses, we realise that both characters are equally sophisticated intellectually. But while Don Quixote's goals are utopian, romantic and clearly unobtainable, Sancho is satisfied with feeling safe and eating bread and cheese — accompanied by a little wine, of course — after each of their frustrated misadventures. I'm a psychiatrist and research on personality shows that those with more open and inquisitive traits will always want to seek new experiences and sensations.

This is more exciting, but also less comfortable, than rejecting what feels strange or unfamiliar. Don Quixote's sensation-seeking and restless personality, as well as his lofty ideals, are the drivers of his misguided adventures. Unable to find excitement in the comfortable but mundane daily life of a landed country gentleman, he sets out to right all the wrongs in the world in the most chivalrous and valiant manner he can imagine.

His ambitious goals are unobtainable, though, and so he remains chronically dissatisfied. While Don Quixote's lofty unattainable goals gave him extreme highs of ecstasy, he never experienced the contentment of his page Sancho Panza Credit: Alamy.

Sancho will inevitably have some difficult emotions, like every other human, that will prevent him from being consistently happy. But he will be less inclined to express his occasional periods of distress in complex existential terms — and they are unlikely to nag and torture him in the same way.

Quixote will sample all the many wondrous highs — and lows — of existence. Quixote has a type of personality that Galen , the Greek physician of classical times, would have labelled as "choleric": passionate, charismatic, impulsive and sensation seeking.

He also has an extremely rich, but equally unstable, inner life, which produces copious amounts of fantasy and emotion. Soon after the second world war, a London-based psychologist called Hans Eysenck developed another personality theory that included the dimensions of extroversion and neuroticism. Quixote is high in extroversion he engages constantly with the external world and high in neuroticism his emotional life is unstable and intense , a combination that would be the equivalent of Galen's choleric personality.

Read more about what makes someone an extrovert. Sancho is, of course, the exact opposite. He could be described as "phlegmatic" in Galen's classification: he is generally introverted, and being perfectly steady in emotional terms, he would certainly score very low on neuroticism. He does not view the world through the filter of a rich but volatile inner life, and instead sees ordinary windmills where Quixote sees formidable giants.

Personality types have been found to be predictors of psychological wellbeing in a way that could be considered relatively intuitive. Essentially, there is a positive correlation between happiness and extroversion and a negative one between happiness and neuroticism.

Quixote is more neurotic than Sancho, but he is also more extroverted. The two will find and experience moments of happiness in different ways. Pleasure and joy can contribute greatly to our sense of well-being Credit: Getty Images. On one level, what we need to be happy is a stable low neuroticism and outgoing extrovert character. But that's not the whole story. If you are driven to succeed in your career field, your ambition could take you far in that respect.

But if you have sacrificed to the point of unhappiness and loneliness to achieve those lofty goals, have you truly been successful? These are questions that everyone must ask for themselves, and they are the questions that psychologists are trying to answer to define healthy ambition versus unhealthy ambition.

The definition of what ambition is varies depending on who you ask. The generally accepted definition of driving ambition is energy with goals. This comes from studies from anthropologists and psychologists. The idea is that with energy and no goals, you will jump from project to project with no forward motion. With goals but no energy, you remain stagnant. Driving ambition combines energy with goals to create constant forward motion. One thing that researchers can agree on is that a healthy amount of ambition can help you succeed in many ways.

Driving ambition in healthy amounts can help you grow as a person as well as become a stronger individual in mind and body. However, it is important to note that ambition alone does not always equal success. Talent, skill, and other circumstances also play a part.

Ambitious people are more likely to set goals and strive for excellence. Many people set goals but do not have the energy to put into making those goals come to fruition. Truly ambitious people not only make goals, but they also take definitive action to achieve those goals. Ambitious people often set very high goals for themselves. They may not always achieve their lofty goals but they will always come extremely close.

They may take longer than anticipated to reach a goal, but they will not stop trying to attain it. Driving ambition lends itself toward making and achieving goals on a grand scale. People with a driving ambition will generally go through many stages of personal development and growth. Because they are driven to be the best they can be, they are constantly looking for ways to improve their skills, talents, and behaviors. This means that many people with driving ambition are prone to being more aware of themselves and their positive traits and flaws.

Most people who are very ambitious are financially stable. Having a driving ambition and desire to succeed means that they often work harder and more hours than their counterparts. Due to these long hours and dedication, they often earn more money than people who have less ambition or are simply willing to work the normal 9 to 5. It is important to note that having a driving ambition does not necessarily mean that you are rich.

Not everyone with a driving ambition makes it big in the world. However, it is common that those with such ambition can pay their bills and put food on the table without much concern.

People with a driving ambition in their career tend to have the best work ethics. They are not afraid of hard work and putting in the effort required to achieve their goals. They rarely call in sick to their jobs, and they tend to avoid taking paid personal time and vacations. They are completely focused on their goals, and all of their energy goes into that driving purpose.

Ambitious people are generally very courageous. They do not shy away from challenges that arise along their path to greatness. They face problems head on, with great courage and strength. This is one reason why ambitious people are sometimes somewhat feared. They do not back down from any challenge, whatever form that challenge may take.

Driving ambition can often make up for lack of inherent talent. All that new Stuff costs money to buy, store, and maintain. Gradually, your lifestyle becomes more expensive so you have to work harder to earn more.

But when they get more money, they discover something else they want. Most Americans are stuck on this treadmill. According to the U. Back then, less than one-fifth of U.

Americans now own twice as many cars as they did in , and we have computers, iPods, and cellphones. Life is good, right? The median is usually different from the average. For example, in the group of numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and , the average is 23, but the median is only 4. If economists talked about average incomes instead of median incomes, their numbers would be skewed by billionaires like Warren Buffett. The hedonic treadmill leads to lifestyle inflation, which is just as dangerous to your money as economic inflation; both destroy the value of your dollars.

Fortunately, you can control lifestyle inflation. You can opt out, step off the treadmill, and escape from the rat race. To do that, you have to set priorities and decide how much is Enough. The next section shows you how. Kurt Vonnegut used to recount a conversation he had with fellow author Joseph Heller Vonnegut published this anecdote as a poem in the New Yorker. Some folks believe their worries would vanish if only they had a six-figure salary.

Others play the lottery because they think winning would solve their problems. In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated , Pablo S. Lottery winners have the same kinds of problems. During the next few years, Post bought boats, mansions, and airplanes, but trouble followed him everywhere. Of course, not every wealthy person is so profligate. In fact, according to Thomas Stanley and William Danko, most millionaires are careful with their money. In their classic book The Millionaire Next Door Pocket, , Stanley and Danko catalog the characteristics of the quiet millionaires—those who live in average neighborhoods, drive average cars, and work average jobs.

These folks are able to build and maintain wealth because they keep their spending in check—even as their incomes rise. Church, Charity, and Community has more about how to handle a windfall. Knowing that you have Enough can be better than having billions of dollars. Contentment comes from having Enough—not too little and not too much. But how much is Enough? And what you need to remain at the peak of the Fulfillment Curve The Fulfillment Curve will change with time, so Enough is a bit of a moving target.

So take time to really think about what having Enough means to you. Discuss it with your family, and explore the idea with your best friend. Is being debt-free Enough? Being able to pay cash for a new boat? Having a million dollars saved for retirement? Decide what Enough means to you, and then write it down. Because the notion of Enough is so vague, the best way to approach it is to be mindful of your financial habits.

The act of consciously choosing how you spend can help you make purchases that are in line with your goals and values. The idea is to spend with intent, deliberately deciding where to direct your money instead of spending impulsively. Did I receive value from this equal to the amount I spent? Conscious spending is about striving to get the most bang for your buck. Is this spending aligned with my goals and values?

But if your extra-hot nonfat caramel latte is the highlight of your day, then buy the latte! Spend only on the things that matter to you. The box below tells the story of Chris Guillebeau, who has made a lot of unorthodox choices to be sure his spending matches his priorities. Chris Guillebeau takes conscious spending to an extreme. One of his ambitions is to visit every country in the world by his 35th birthday.

Travel is expensive, so in order to meet his goal, Guillebeau has made it his top priority. But I spend thousands of dollars to fly all over the world. To read more about his unconventional life, check out his blog at www.

If you have so much Stuff that you need to rent a storage shed, you have more than Enough. Getting rid of Stuff only hurts for a little bit. Some people find the process so liberating that they go farther and practice voluntary simplicity , even to the point of moving into a smaller home.

Living Green: The Missing Manual suggests lots of great ways to de- clutter your life. A balanced life is a fulfilling life.