Man is a very  ambitious being, and this attitude is a necessary part of his life and survival on this earth. But due to the distorting presence of sin nature in us, every feeling is distorted, and his ambition is no exception to this. A desire for obtaining the right things for the right motive is to be encouraged, but when it takes the form of craving for each and every thing without any control, it  becomes a sinful attitude. This is to be discouraged at all cost.

We see this principle very pictorially in Psalm 131 where David  expresses the correct type of attitude. He says that he is not trying to reach things which are great and wonderful in human sight. In fact anything can become great and wonderful to a person who does not have sufficient spiritual discernment and wisdom. It might be a  degree, a job, a  coveted position, a particular marriage partner. In fact a person with the wrong kind of ambition can covet for anything (from insignificant to fantastic) that is beyond his reach. At the same time he will overlook things which God has kept within his reach for his constant use !!

It is necessary for us to examine these things because a wrong type of ambition betrays two things : an attitude of pride, and an attitude of not depending upon the Lord for receiving the things that we really need. In the last part of this psalm we note that a person with the right kind of attitude and trust in the Lord can be compared with an infant in the lap of its mother. Just as this child is calm and quite, without trying to reach anything that is beyond its need and reach, so a   discerning  believer should be.

Our life on this earth is not an easy one. There are numerous things around us which constantly call our attraction; we are told that we are somehow weak, inferior, and incomplete without those things. It is quite frequent for a Christian counselor to see men and women who are at the point of mental breakdown just because they are not able to control their cravings. But their ambition to get the fantastic and unreachable things of this world is destroying their mental balance. Only a fully trusting attitude can restore what they have lost.

Sometime ago I met a young man who was worried to death about his future. He was doing his master’s degree at that time, but all the time he was occupied with thoughts about his future. Many of his friends were able to get good jobs by paying a bribe, and they were already owners of many of the status symbols of the society, all because of one reason : they all belonged to rich families. This young man was from a poorer family. However, in all this he had forgotten one most important principle: it is not our money which ultimately decides our destiny.

Many persons might have made their destiny with the help of money, but a Christian should realize that money or no money, his destiny is in the hands of the Lord ! He will provide all what is really needed at the right time. Since this boy had not understood this truth, he was destroying his mental health, and at the same time he was overlooking his most important present duty : studying faithfully !! This way his own false ambition was destroying his own future and mental health. May the Lord help each one us to keep our ambitions in proper balance.

Does your attitude have a connection to your physical and mental health? Up until recently, the answer to that was a strong ‘No’ from a strictly scientific standpoint. However, according to some recent studies, there may be more to it than the obvious. More or less, mental health and personal outlook and philosophy are connected. There isn’t much scientific data to explain how the two are connected, but there is ample proof of the link. However, what about the body? Will people who perceive themselves as being healthier and more lively actually be in a better physical state than others? Unlike the mental health link, there is no definite connection made just yet, but there have been some findings that point to a possibility.

According to a large-scale study conducted by Duke University, there is a link between attitudes and physical well-being. The reports state that the research team did their best to eliminate external factors, such as mental health issues, vices, and hereditary diseases from the final results. The end result of the report makes the claim that, if two people with similar states of physical well-being are taken, the one with a more positive outlook is more likely to have better health in the long-term. The one that has more fear and anxiety about his physical condition is more likely to suffer from some sort of illness or have poorer overall health than his counterpart.

Of course, before taking this into account, people should also eliminate possible factors affecting longevity and health. For example, people who have depression or Thanatos complex may perform acts that can permanently compromise their immune system, possibly cutting their life expectancy. The relationship between diet and vices to physical and mental health also plays a larger role than outlook and attitude theoretically do. Further study is under way, but Dr. Ellen Idler has studied the research data and the implications extensively. She believes that the link is less of a “mystical” one and more deeply rooted in the principles of cause and effect. According to her theory, the relationship between attitude and longevity is one that is connected to mental health.

In her theory, people who have a more negative outlook are more likely to slip into unhealthy lifestyles. Whether this is subconscious or not would likely vary from case to case, but she believes that negative attitudes tend to eventually lead to negative states of mind. It is known that mental health is connected closely to physical health, with a number of mental disorders either having physical symptoms or side effects. While a negative outlook in life may not necessarily be an act of self-destruction on the person’s part, it may help push the person into an increasingly degenerate lifestyle.

Further study is likely to be needed before any concrete connections are made. There are currently two major areas where the studies are liable to concentrate. First is the theory that a positive outlook is linked to mental health and that is how it affects the physical well-being and longevity of a person. Another, far less accepted theory, is that a positive outlook actually can influence the body in the same way that some people manifest physical symptoms simply by believing that they are ill.