Olympic ambitions

At the time of the Olympics, when we see the constant images of athletes receiving medals and laurel wreaths for their incredible victories, it is not uncommon to feel in ourselves a mix of emotions, starting with national pride, through the individual respect, empathy, envy and ending with sorrow and regret for not being ourselves the winners. We feel that someone who receives a medal is in truth a mere human being, although  an exceptional athlete, and feel that, like them, we had our windows of opportunity, but let it close. We know it's too late now, but then console ourselves. After all, how could it be otherwise? We are mortals and we have our lives to care. How could we have been Olympic athletes?

What is the role of ambition in this context? 

 Perhaps the ambition has no place in the spectrum of feelings of ordinary mortals like us, but, why not, if we envy the winners? If envy, why not be like them? The most common answer is that indeed, we are content with what we have. We are pleased with our small achievements and somehow, the ambition is a dangerous feeling. She can bring medals, but can also bring war, death, and it may be the cause of all misery in the world. Take any problem, personal or global, and ambition serves perfectly as a cause to take responsibility. We can not justify the misery of world hunger as a result of the greed of the rich countries who do not want to give up a small share of their wealth? And our difficulties of day-to-day? Of course, we always attribute our problems to the ambition of the boss, wife, husband, the government or the driver with a newer car.

But what we can achieve in life without a little healthy ambition? Pure and simple humility is the outright disgusting and undergrowth. Even animals are humble in  relative terms. No living thing had a intend to give up what nature bestowed upon them by right. No gazelle surrender meekly to a lion to be devoured. Everyone has the right to be ambitious. Maybe the evil of ambition is when we aspire to achieve our ambitions at the expense of others. From a social point of view, this is the best ambition: that allows us to win, but not prevent the next win as well.
Made this distinction, ambition is not at all a bad feeling. It is natural that is not socially encouraged in our country. A tradition of political and religious makes us, Brazilians people, more humble than ambitious (unlike our dear brothers from Argentina). In a way, the ambition goes against certain Christian religious principles. But this Christian reading of the ambition is nonsense. If we think that the founder of Christianity himself says God, then it is perhaps the most ambitious men, if not even a god. And if he asks us to be like him, so why not give space to our healthy ambitions?
The main question is: is it worth? In most cases, we will not receive any laurel wreath for our efforts, and the overwhelming majority of our investees, we fail, with no right, sometimes having as award only damages. But the few times that we are successful, then the effort will be compensated. At this time, we will be envied and admired, and respected, and be the pride of the nation. And we feel proud of ourselves, and we will be explosively happy, which is what matters most, in the end. As a accessory prize, humanity wins with this, because whenever we do great things, these things tend to be good things, and of which not only we, but all benefit.
So from where start? We have no basis whatsoever to assume that we will succeed, but some lessons our fellow Olympic athletes teach us.
First, that even a superatleta can at most be a pent-athlete, but a versatile athlete, a superatleta. I mean, it increases your chances of success when he decides to be an expert in running, or swimming, or basketball, but not all at the same time. Focus is what they teach.
Second, there is amateur athletes and professional athletes. And if we want to be a professional athlete, the work must be full time, not just on weekends, and not only when we want. Dedication is what they teach.
I wonder, because I have no ambition to shape other ideas or suggest other opinions: what my focus? When will I start to dedicate myself to it?
About laurels , I think them later ...