Ambition (or lack thereof)

[SirRob]

I fail to understand how anyone can just submit to the Fate. And while I haven't been the most aggressive person in my own day; It's mind boggling that people would just sit around and do nothing when they could achieve something for themselves.

Well. Anyone who's online here now isn't achieving much of anything. Is it hard to imagine having the mindset all of us have now, all the time?

 

[Artillery Spam]

What do I want out of life?

I want to create a new me. Not a clone or any of that other dreamy bullshit, but a remastered version of myself that is more competent than the version that exists on this planet at this very moment. I want to learn from life and strengthen myself both mentality and physically while simultaneously developing into the best man that I can possibly become. I want to set a good example for those around me (particularly my little sister), and to receive well-rounded and useful advice from those that are older and more experienced than I am. I want to see new people--people that exhibit different habits, unique and interesting ideas, and that carry themselves differently than the same old individuals I associate myself with on a day-to-day basis. This would in turn instill a feeling of tolerance and acceptance for others around me, leaving me to improve my interactions with those that I converse or spend time with.

I don't want a million dollars or a massive house. I don't want a sports car or some fancy degree from a high-ranking university or college. Those things are excellent tangible items that a person would receive if they worked hard enough. I plan on joining the US Navy and going to college (the reserve forces and community college to see which one sucks the least amount of ass), but in general I just want to be a good person with a decent personality and a firm grasp on reality, while at the same time possessing a strong will and a healthy body and soul.

Life isn't easy. I've seen people do incredible things in their lives that honestly made me wonder how the fuck they actually did it. I want to be like those people. I will make mistakes in my life as I go on with my existence, but as long I learn from them I think everything will be smooth.

 

[LouyieBlu]

Again, I doubt this is just a furry thing. It's hard to grow up, after all. You move out of your parents' house, all of the sudden you start having to take care of bills, rent, groceries, cooking, cleaning, all while maintaining some kind of income so you don't lose your ability to pay for all of those things. Some people take it harder than others and feel a need to just give up, go let someone else take care of them for a while like their parents used to. This happens in a lot of societies to a lot of people. Hell, maybe it's even the original idea behind the 'rite of passage'... to force kids to become adults and recognize that now its their turn to start contributing to society. We don't have any rite of passage in America, really, so some people just feel a need to stay a kid for longer. And that's okay as long as they eventually grow out of that. The people who don't are the rightwing argument against social security.

Anyway, ambitions... I mean, I'm in the process of fulfilling them right now. In another year I'll have passed my qualifiers and started work on a PhD in astronomy. Once I earn that, I'll have contributed something new to the field of astronomy and I can start selling my expertise to people who want it. I suppose the ultimate point of pride for me would be to come up with a clever method or an equation or something that lots of people can use to further their research. You know... to write one of those papers that hundreds if not thousands of people end up having to cite. That would pretty damn cool.
Oh, and it'd be cool if I ended up making a bit of money off my novel, but I think the other one is more realistic and exciting.

I agree, you grow up and depending on how your surroundings effect you, you change, your confidence, how you interact with the world.
So no its not just lack of confidence in just furries, more all people growing up. Although I do agree that some furries can be less open then others, maybe coming from the fact that originally they thought they had to hide their "wrongness"( being a furry is not wrong)and it just was trend in their life. There could be a host of other reasons, every one is different.
I for one, well im kind of an oxymoron in myself. I am extremely determined when it comes to learning about new stuff, and achieving an academic goal, but when it comes to socializing im not all that confident, ambitious or head strong. This is a trend I am giving my all to get out of, but not lose who I really am in the process.
This is a good thread.

 

[Commiecomrade]

Everyone is lazy an unambitious. Furries just express that in the most fucked up way possible.

 

[Kitutal]

Maybe because those of us with plans and ambitions and successes don't want to seem like we're showing off to everyone.
Also as said above, it can be very hard for us, this place seems to attract people that struggle to get by elsewhere, more so than many others even on the internet, I have been for years pretty much incapable of getting a job because I couldn't even go into a shop and ask about a vacancy or anything, I still can't but come summer I am going to try until I can.
Besides, it's a lot easier to sit around doing nothing, especially if you have others to do it all for you, and those few people that actually care enough to go and achieve something, how many hang around sites like this all day?
I think my problem, though, is that I have too many ambitions, I can't put enough time, money and effort into achieving them all and I can't choose which one to focus on the most. Also, I'm kind of lazy, and like a few other people here I severely lacked social interaction until I found this place, and now I have the chance, I'm enjoying it, and it's taking up a lot of my time.

 

[Kultakorppi]

I want to be an astronaut. OR accomplish/invent something that would really help humanity.

 

[Bipolar Bear]

What do I want out of my life? Oh boy, that's a big question. I guess I just want meaning to it. What am I supposed to be doing? Have no fucking idea. I've moved from 5 different schools because they didn't feel quite right to me. They didn't cater to my needs and I needed to find the one place that did.

What're my ambitions? To become a Director of Photography. I'm currently studying in a Screen & Media course that will hopefully lead me to it. Maybe I'd want to have a commited relationship, own a house, buy a car, who knows? We all just fumble our way through life, hoping to have everything fall into your lap. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen as often as you want it to.

But what I really, really, REALLY want... is to have a sense of identity. I was born without one. I never had my own opinions. I agreed with everyone just to seem normal. My personality reflected off those I surrounded myself with. And to this day, I'm still trying to find out who I am. But I fear that day is long ahead of me...

 

[Fenrari]

Maybe because those of us with plans and ambitions and successes don't want to seem like we're showing off to everyone.
Also as said above, it can be very hard for us, this place seems to attract people that struggle to get by elsewhere, more so than many others even on the internet, I have been for years pretty much incapable of getting a job because I couldn't even go into a shop and ask about a vacancy or anything, I still can't but come summer I am going to try until I can.
Besides, it's a lot easier to sit around doing nothing, especially if you have others to do it all for you, and those few people that actually care enough to go and achieve something, how many hang around sites like this all day?
I think my problem, though, is that I have too many ambitions, I can't put enough time, money and effort into achieving them all and I can't choose which one to focus on the most. Also, I'm kind of lazy, and like a few other people here I severely lacked social interaction until I found this place, and now I have the chance, I'm enjoying it, and it's taking up a lot of my time.

I understand where you're coming from; but I don't at the same time.

How is it showing off to aspire to something? It's not like you're making rash offhand comments about the nature of things.

And at the same time it's not like you're giving a middle finger by saying:"I want/deserve better out of life." That very mentality keeps a lot of people alive when all else seems to fail them.

 

[JArt.]

I just blame it on the epople that make those guys feel like crap.
If you can't love yourself and feel like a winner you can't believe you are one.

 

[S.L.p]

iv been working my ass off trying to get this music stuff up and going, im doing DJ work and some othere stuff on the side. yeah i know most furs whant to be a DJ but iv been working for this for a good 10 years now. oh and i do rap on the side ( death core ).

 

[BRN]

It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, man. The kinds of people who accept being in a less powerful, more submissive, servitudal position are the kind of people not comfortable with taking the reigns of their own lives, making decisions for themselves. They don't have the goals they would need to be able to even chase after them. And some people are cool with having that weight attached out of maternalistic/paternalistic ideals or interests, and/or the whole sexual side of things, which makes for a decent pairing of people with similar and balanced wants and needs.

It's only really a problem when the submissive becomes a dead weight rather than a contributory member of society in their own right, which happens when they aren't in that beneficial pairing. But even so, by nature, they don't have the drive to look for the pairing. Self-fulfilling prophecy, as I said.

ED: Also, in light of Oz's below post, I should add that some furries really show a strong drive to get laid. That's an ambition, right? >.o

 

[Ozriel]

I aim to go back to school in 2014 for Library Science once I finish my associates.
Other than that, I am looking into colleges and taking applications to review.

And you are wrong, furries do have ambition. The ones I know will travel 100 miles away to screw their lives over for an internet mate and live on the streets for another 2 years because the relationship fell through like a fridge on thin ice.

 

[SiLJinned]

Hmm, I want to become a comic artist/writer for my own thing (no, not the typical superhero kind) and a good animator (2D in particular mostly). I'd also like to work on a video game idea of mine as a project and work with others over the net as help.

I don't really care much for my fursona. "She" doesn't even have an individual name, it's simply a self-insert.

 

[Telnac]

My bucket list, as of when I was 18:

Make awesome video games that sell millions of copies (accomplished)
Run my own game studio (in the works)
Build an android dragon (still a pipe dream... for now)
Cause the downfall of civilization (hey, my evil side can dream too!)
Go back in time & do it all over again!

I've never had a problem with ambition or being tenacious about accomplishing even my most outlandish dreams. After all, the only way to guarantee failure is not to try.

 

[Schwimmwagen]

When I grow up:

- Finish college at a decent level and move on to a university to study games and/or 3D art. So far I quite like the look of the University of Swansea.
- Be part of a total conversion mod or a small commercial indie game project handled online. If I become successful in this, see where it takes me.
- Get good at art. Especially cartoons, yo. Get good enough take commissions and in return make people smile and possibly laugh.
- Get some muscle. (WIP)
- Get together with Tiger, and hopefully someday figure out how to stay together.

And that'll be that. That's the things that really matter to me. :>

 

[Aetius]

My 10 year plan for a greater socialist revolution.

-Get my degree in 2 years
-Try to find some form of employment
-ruthlessly crush all opposition

 

[Fay V]

Growing up is fucking scary, that's why.

I've never had an anxiety attack before, until last winter trying to work out this graduate school stuff. I was convinced that I would be completely cut off from help. I've always assumed that I would pay most everything with financial aid and a job, but I figured if shit hit the fan my parents would lend me money, the idea of being completely alone and having to cover everything on my own just made my body shut down.
This entire process of grad applications and waiting for replies has made me the most anxious and miserable I have been in a long time.

My happiest moment was a week, a sole week where I had no responsibilities beyond house chores and some commissions. That's why some people aren't ambitious, because they don't need a powerful job, or high end stuff. They are happy where they are because they have no need to climb higher and put stress on themselves. Desire is the root of all suffering.

I don't mind when someone is still contributing or at least not being a detriment to society and just doesn't want that much from life (aka not being on welfare cause they don't wanna work). As for my ambitions, I don't have many. I want to go to go to grad school and continue my work with philosophy of the mind and help to make Weasyl a successful site.

 

[soutthpaw]

Its a charactistic of people in general not in any way specific to Furs. More it has to do with personality types (A and B), submissive, dominant. Look at nature there are far more submissives that dominant. Only one alpha to a pack for example. Also the reason there are many more employees than employers or business owners. I am sure the excessive number of Alphas in the human population has a lot to do with why our species is so Fuk'ed up.... think of all the folks who work on assembly lines and sweat shops etc. doing the same thing hour after hour, day after day.... They are not furry except for a fractional percentage...

 

[Sundown]

I want to write a story with interesting characters and create a universe so diverse that it inspires other people to write within that world. I guess i don't want much. ^^;

Can't imagine willingly being a pet though. >> Might be fun to play around like that every now and then, but not on a permanent basis. Not that I care one way or the other if people do, I'm a really "live an let live" kind of person.

 

[Ley]

I want everything and I won't stop 'till I get it.

I want to finish school and go to the college that I have chosen.

I want to get a masters in Illustration, and Bachelors among other things.

I want to work as the lead art designer for video game covers in any of the companies I choose. My dream goal is to publish my comic book(s) and eventually be able to self sustain them.

During my journeys I want to find a man that will be my partner in crime, my support, my restraint and my love. I want to find the father of my children and I want him to be a perfect genetic example for them, along with just generally being an amazing human being.

I want to tour the world and backpack amazing places until I am 28.

I want to find my own house that I'm allowed to customize however I wish it to. If not, I want to build my own house.

I will have children. Lots of them. (4 max). I will give them the amazing childhood I never got to have. I will discipline my boys to treat girls fairly, and I will discipline my girls to where they are not taught they had to rely on anyone but themselves. My boys will be gentlemen and my girls will be ladies, but each knowing who they are and what they want in life.

I want to be able to kick my kids out of my house as early as possible and enjoy myself and my husband, eventually touring the world again.

I want to quit my job and be full time grandparents to my grandkids- of which I want lots. I want each of my kids to lead fulfilling lives, doing as much as to getting them out of dead end jobs and forcing them to search for others that will give them lives.

I want to die old and frail, next to my husband, having lead fantastic lives.

I want to die sleeping.

I want my grandkids to look up to me as their 'crazy, fun, ambitious, batshit insane gramma'

I want everything life has to offer. >:c

 

[Kitutal]

Sounds like some people here have things well worked out. My ambitions at the moment include, writing plenty of decent fiction novels and a long series on world history, getting pretty good at drawing, especially for comics and perhaps animated cartoons, designing and writing my own computer games, designing and perhaps making toys, working in a book shop or a quaint city centre cafe, settling down with my ideal partner, after having a bit of fun with a few other people first, travelling to all sorts of interesting places, and whatever other crazy ideas pop into my head, anything from founding a charity through to starting my own political party. And at some point I want to actually finish this completely unrelated degree in architecture. And of course to become able to talk more and make friends and so on.
Lots of chaotic randomness and no idea what to focus on or what to forget about entirely.

 

[Pocketsf2f]

I can't speak for anyone else but I was stuck in that complacent sort of state for years when I worked as a pressman for Delaware State News. A part of it too was that while I hated the job to no end, the money was good enough for me to live independently. To a degree too, it was also that I had committed 5 years to there and had learned so much, made a lot of friends through there, and felt a pride in my own ability to be able to operate printing presses. I had wanted to be a nurse even then, but that would have also meant leaving my job as the scheduling would not have allowed me to work, go to school, study, go to clinical, etc. As such I'd have to leave a secure position, my apartment, and financial security under the gamble that I would succeed in nursing. Even still, I'm glad I made that choice to go to school and took that risk but it took a helluva lot of crap from my previous job to finally make me decide to leave.

In short: Complacency, losing some independence, fear of failure were my reasons I dragged ass before going for something better.

 

[Demensa]

Really, I just want to finish school with good grades right now so I can get whichever University courses I feel like choosing. I'm never really ambitious when it comes to looking at 'the big picture', just the little things, like composing better music, learning to draw, play guitar, getting better at my job, plus all of my other little hobbies. Whether I become a Particle Physicist, play in a band, do something entirely different, or live on the streets, I know I'm only going to do something if I enjoy it. If I don't, I will go and seek out something new for my life.

 

[Kultakorppi]

My bucket list, as of when I was 18:

Make awesome video games that sell millions of copies (accomplished)
Run my own game studio (in the works)
Build an android dragon (still a pipe dream... for now)
Cause the downfall of civilization (hey, my evil side can dream too!)
Go back in time & do it all over again!

I've never had a problem with ambition or being tenacious about accomplishing even my most outlandish dreams. After all, the only way to guarantee failure is not to try.

So you have actually made a game that has sold millions of copies? Mind telling us the name of the game?

 

[BRN]

So you have actually made a game that has sold millions of copies? Mind telling us the name of the game?

You might have misread the post - a bucket list is a list of things you want to do while you live. :v