Love this discussion. My current favourite line is “I worked really hard for the first 25 years of my life and now I want to sit on a front porch in the mountains”. I think I had this idea of being a ‘girl boss’ at this stage of my life and that’s actually not at all what I want anymore! I want to be comfortable financially, but yes I want to create and have space to be bored ☺️
I am in the same boat. I entered the work force at the peak of the girl boss era and for years I was obsessed with maximizing productivity. Until it all became too much and I just couldn’t do it anymore. These days I want to work smarter, not harder or more.
Katharina, that's such an interesting point. I wonder how much it matters where the cultural pendulum on work was when we entered the workforce. It seems from GenZ sentiment that not everyone innately pops into their 20s with the desire to go all out at work.
I’m with Sam! I’m ambitiously focused on not working for the next period of my life. Tea on the porch in the mountains sounds perfect. I think everything comes in cycles. I’m sure there will be a point where I’m focused on achieving something more ‘work’ related in the future when inspiration strikes but right now, and for the foreseeable, I’m ambitiously aiming to calm the hell down and enjoy just being alive.
Can I move in next door and wave from my adjacent mountain porch? :)
Sapphire, lol "I'm ambitiously aiming to calm the hell down"
The transition from big ambition to prioritizing life's pleasures is common, and I'm curious about what triggers it for different people and when (if at all). I've definitely felt it.
I love this whole discussion and Rodrigo’s reframe from ambition to devotion.
I’d say for me, having just turned 40 last week, the awakening portal is so real and so powerful. It started creeping in as I felt the man made constraints within consulting, devoid of authentic human value. Followed by a creative sabbatical when my role ended last march including weaving and non-dual meditation.
Now my goal is to live everyday in a state of prayer. Whether thru coaching, art, or simply presence with friends.
This poet summarizes the feelings so beautifully. Now I devote myself to life’s unfolding.
I feel like the feelings have hours and seasons. Some days I want to change the world. Other days I want to be on the couch all day. What if the ideal is having a life that allows for all of the ambitions within a day, week, month, or year???
Late here, but I love this conversation. I work in a fairly demanding job in corporate banking, and for the last several years, my career ambitions and drive to get that next promotion has been strong. However, I am now at a point where I am pretty senior and I have accomplished more than I ever initially thought. I almost feel a bit awkward because I think there is still an expectation that I should constantly be striving for “more” in my career (more money, more responsibility, more experiences). YET, I am really content with where I am. In fact, I’m crystal clear that what matters to me most right now, is more free time that I can spend doing my hobbies, or spending with family and friends. I talk to a lot of peers who feel similarly too, which I am surprised by. We all look around us at the people at those next levels and see how much they work and how unhappy many of them seem, and none of us want that. Makes me curious for how this world will continue evolving!!
Jenica, all I can say is BRAVA. I love your clarity about what you want more of now, and love that you have others to talk to about this. So often the feeling that we don't, in fact, want more feels somehow shameful or subversive. You're socializing a new norm and it's so needed.
Adjacently, reminds me of the Michelle Wolf bit about not equating "all" with "good":
People say to me: "You can have it all!"
Yea stop saying that. You act like all is good. All does not mean good. You've never left an all-you-can-eat buffet and think "I feel really good about myself. I sure am glad I went back for spare ribs."
Love this question Bree. I keep coming back to it. 'Ambition' as a concept just hasn't registered for quite a while. But your post has poked something in me and I'm going to give it more thought over the coming week... Thank you!
I love this exploration, Bree, as I'm sure you can imagine. 😄 In my work around Sustainable Ambition, what I've experienced, found in working with people around ambition, and believe is that ambition ebbs and flows. Rather than it being a set identity trait, as we go through changes, it can shift in terms of intensity level, interest (work vs. creative pursuits as you point out), where we put our attention (personal vs. professional ambitions). I don't think it is static, and we can move through different states at different times.
I'm also personally experiencing right now another angle... which is that different areas of my life have different stages or levels of ambition. Around some projects, I'm clear and pushing forward. But I have a new ambition brewing, and I have no idea how it will take shape. Inspired by this talk on Hidden Brain with professor Ken Sheldon (https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/what-do-you-want-to-be/), I'm starting to see us figuring out what we want as a creative process, as he espouses. For me, in one area of my life, I'm in the early creative phase of exploration and don't want any parameters and structures put on it. After a 5-year run focused on my personal creative exploration, I'm stepping back and re-evaluating what's next and starting that creative process all over with no constraints. I resist: "Don't make me put a goal or objective to this!" I just want space.
This resonates. Maybe it's like a series of overlapping sine waves. I know I feel stressed when EVERYTHING feels ambiguous and bored when everything feels safe and defined. Perhaps, if we're lucky, we find ourselves a little stability and a little adventure, if not all at once, then over time. (Also I want to hear about your emerging creative project sometime!)
I like this idea of the sine waves, Bree! Makes me think of Whitney Johnson's work, but I'm not sure if she talks about this idea of having "projects" in a different stages. And the creative project is in early, early stages. Right now indulging in the concept of "research as a leisure activity." 😄 https://www.personalcanon.com/p/research-as-leisure-activity
Love this discussion. My current favourite line is “I worked really hard for the first 25 years of my life and now I want to sit on a front porch in the mountains”. I think I had this idea of being a ‘girl boss’ at this stage of my life and that’s actually not at all what I want anymore! I want to be comfortable financially, but yes I want to create and have space to be bored ☺️
I am in the same boat. I entered the work force at the peak of the girl boss era and for years I was obsessed with maximizing productivity. Until it all became too much and I just couldn’t do it anymore. These days I want to work smarter, not harder or more.
Katharina, that's such an interesting point. I wonder how much it matters where the cultural pendulum on work was when we entered the workforce. It seems from GenZ sentiment that not everyone innately pops into their 20s with the desire to go all out at work.
That is an interesting way to look at it. I think you are right, it probably matters a lot where the cultural pendulum sat at the time.
I’m with Sam! I’m ambitiously focused on not working for the next period of my life. Tea on the porch in the mountains sounds perfect. I think everything comes in cycles. I’m sure there will be a point where I’m focused on achieving something more ‘work’ related in the future when inspiration strikes but right now, and for the foreseeable, I’m ambitiously aiming to calm the hell down and enjoy just being alive.
Sam and Sapphire, I hear you both!
Can I move in next door and wave from my adjacent mountain porch? :)
Sapphire, lol "I'm ambitiously aiming to calm the hell down"
The transition from big ambition to prioritizing life's pleasures is common, and I'm curious about what triggers it for different people and when (if at all). I've definitely felt it.
Dear Bree,
Your writing and reader's comments reflect generosity and wisdom.
With profound humility, what if we move with devotion, rather than ambition?
With gratitude,
I love this whole discussion and Rodrigo’s reframe from ambition to devotion.
I’d say for me, having just turned 40 last week, the awakening portal is so real and so powerful. It started creeping in as I felt the man made constraints within consulting, devoid of authentic human value. Followed by a creative sabbatical when my role ended last march including weaving and non-dual meditation.
Now my goal is to live everyday in a state of prayer. Whether thru coaching, art, or simply presence with friends.
This poet summarizes the feelings so beautifully. Now I devote myself to life’s unfolding.
Keep dancing my friends.
https://open.substack.com/pub/christhecocreator/p/this-is-not-a-love-poem-this-is-a?r=caupo&utm_medium=ios
I feel like the feelings have hours and seasons. Some days I want to change the world. Other days I want to be on the couch all day. What if the ideal is having a life that allows for all of the ambitions within a day, week, month, or year???
Ha yes this is definitely me as well. Some days are world days, some days couch days. It reminds me of Alice Katter's thoughts on working in harmony with life's seasons: https://outofofficenetwork.substack.com/p/working-in-harmony-with-lifes-seasons
Late here, but I love this conversation. I work in a fairly demanding job in corporate banking, and for the last several years, my career ambitions and drive to get that next promotion has been strong. However, I am now at a point where I am pretty senior and I have accomplished more than I ever initially thought. I almost feel a bit awkward because I think there is still an expectation that I should constantly be striving for “more” in my career (more money, more responsibility, more experiences). YET, I am really content with where I am. In fact, I’m crystal clear that what matters to me most right now, is more free time that I can spend doing my hobbies, or spending with family and friends. I talk to a lot of peers who feel similarly too, which I am surprised by. We all look around us at the people at those next levels and see how much they work and how unhappy many of them seem, and none of us want that. Makes me curious for how this world will continue evolving!!
Jenica, all I can say is BRAVA. I love your clarity about what you want more of now, and love that you have others to talk to about this. So often the feeling that we don't, in fact, want more feels somehow shameful or subversive. You're socializing a new norm and it's so needed.
Adjacently, reminds me of the Michelle Wolf bit about not equating "all" with "good":
People say to me: "You can have it all!"
Yea stop saying that. You act like all is good. All does not mean good. You've never left an all-you-can-eat buffet and think "I feel really good about myself. I sure am glad I went back for spare ribs."
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwyOFTDSBdY/
Love this question Bree. I keep coming back to it. 'Ambition' as a concept just hasn't registered for quite a while. But your post has poked something in me and I'm going to give it more thought over the coming week... Thank you!
I love this exploration, Bree, as I'm sure you can imagine. 😄 In my work around Sustainable Ambition, what I've experienced, found in working with people around ambition, and believe is that ambition ebbs and flows. Rather than it being a set identity trait, as we go through changes, it can shift in terms of intensity level, interest (work vs. creative pursuits as you point out), where we put our attention (personal vs. professional ambitions). I don't think it is static, and we can move through different states at different times.
I'm also personally experiencing right now another angle... which is that different areas of my life have different stages or levels of ambition. Around some projects, I'm clear and pushing forward. But I have a new ambition brewing, and I have no idea how it will take shape. Inspired by this talk on Hidden Brain with professor Ken Sheldon (https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/what-do-you-want-to-be/), I'm starting to see us figuring out what we want as a creative process, as he espouses. For me, in one area of my life, I'm in the early creative phase of exploration and don't want any parameters and structures put on it. After a 5-year run focused on my personal creative exploration, I'm stepping back and re-evaluating what's next and starting that creative process all over with no constraints. I resist: "Don't make me put a goal or objective to this!" I just want space.
I'm curious to read what others share here!
Kathy, our resident expert! For anyone else here in the comments, this is Kathy's work: https://sustainableambition.com/
This resonates. Maybe it's like a series of overlapping sine waves. I know I feel stressed when EVERYTHING feels ambiguous and bored when everything feels safe and defined. Perhaps, if we're lucky, we find ourselves a little stability and a little adventure, if not all at once, then over time. (Also I want to hear about your emerging creative project sometime!)
I like this idea of the sine waves, Bree! Makes me think of Whitney Johnson's work, but I'm not sure if she talks about this idea of having "projects" in a different stages. And the creative project is in early, early stages. Right now indulging in the concept of "research as a leisure activity." 😄 https://www.personalcanon.com/p/research-as-leisure-activity