Evolutionary Perspective of Ambition

Today I will be discussing ambition from an evolutionary perspective. In “An Open Letter to ComparativePsychologists” By Daniel J. Povinelli, Derek C. Penn, and Keith J. Holyoak they said, "it is time for comparative psychologists to move beyond a faith-based belief in the “mental continuity” between all species and to invest as much effort in identifying the differences between human and nonhuman minds as they have invested in identifying the similarities. Only then will comparative psychology be able to take its rightful place at the roundtable of cognitive science.” I also agree it is important to combine all views of psychology including the evolutionary view, to help define a behavior occurring among us."

According to Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, a professor of anthropology, in Jeffrey Kluger’s "AMBITION Why Some People Are Most Likely To Succeed,” "primate wide, males are more competitive than females, but that’s not the same as saying women aren’t innately competitive too. The roots of these differences lie in animal and human mating strategies. “Males are built to go for quick, competitive reproductive hits and move on.” “Woman are built for the ‘it-takes-a-village life, in which they provide long-term care to a very few young and must sail them safely into an often hostile world.” In old world monkeys “this can be tricky since young females inherit their mother’s social rank.” The mothers must thus operate the levers of society skillfully so as to raise both their own position and eventually their daughters’.

My sister in-law worked very hard and graduated as an LPN to help provide for her family. She has made many sacrifices to get to this point. Her ambition at home and in the workplace shines bright and she has mastered Self-regulation which brought her to this point! I am so proud and clearly her hubby (my brother) is as well.

These behaviors also occur in human nature. Children are typically huge motivators for mothers who grew up in a world they wouldn’t want their child brought up in, (of course, there are always outliers.) Generally speaking, women work hard and make sacrifices to see their children live a better life than their own. That is one of the most important aspects of parenting. Mothers who quit the workplace altogether to raise their family? Hrdy believes they’re competing for one of the most enduring stakes of all, putting aside their near-term goals to ensure the long-term success of their line.” Not all men have the “hit it and quit it mindset and not all women possess the “it takes a village mentality. The difference between us and animals is that we can understand our need to change our animalistic roots, or as Christians would call it, “denying the flesh,” in order to improve a relationship with someone we love.

Kluger also mentions “Robin Parker, 46, a campaign organizer who in the 1980’s was already on the presidential stump with Senator Edward Kennedy, was precisely the kind of lifetime pol who one day finds herself in the West Wing. But in 1992, at the very moment a president of her party was returning to the white house and she might have snagged a Washington job, she decamped from the capitol, moved to Boston with her family and became a fulltime mom to her two sons. She said, “Being out in the world became a lot less important to me. I used to worry about getting presidents elected, and I’m still an incredibly ambitious person. But what I want to succeed at now is managing my family, raising my boys, helping my husband, and the community.” She chose to leave the job of her dreams but, she still lived her own passion by investing her skills in their community. That shows her ambition.

Even though this evolutionary perspective may prove why women innately choose mothering over success in the workplace, it is not ok to use this article as an excuse to quit or allow failure. Yes, your children are your priority but, in “A 3 generational study” by Sue C. Whisler, "their [the older generation] main regret was that marriage and family was their only route to satisfaction, leaving other ambitions unsatisfied." If you have a dream it is important to invest in it in some way.

Note to single mothers,

I understand that this choice may not be an option for you. I commend you. If you have aided in providing your children with most of Maslow’s needs, from Basic to Meta, then you should be confident you have mastered your job. It is imperative for your child’s growth that most of these needs are met by you and not only provided by the system. I understand you’re tired, stressed, overworked, overwhelmed, or feeling like a whirlwind, I was a single mom and was raised by a single mom as well. I know those feelings all too well. You can Do it! It is also important to find a way to put your feelings aside to invest in your dreams all while being both mom and dad. Even if it is just five minutes in the bathroom with the shower running and writing business plans in a journal or emailing yourself tons of articles from the public library computer in the few minutes your child is distracted by a book. There is something intriguingly fascinating about single mothers with big dreams. Be one of them.

Sincerely,

Saschia

“…It is that flexibility… that makes dreaming big dreams and pursuing big goals worth all the bother. Ambition is an expensive impulse, one that requires an enormous investment of emotional capitol. Like any investment, it can pay off in countless different kinds of coin. The trick, as any good speculator will tell you, is recognizing the riches when they come”

Jerrrey Kluger “AMBITION”