Day 2: Ambition
If you’d like to join me for the #evolving40:
- All are welcome. Jump in at any time.
- On the daily theme, think: “How have I evolved? How am I evolving?”
- Length and format are up to you.
- Post in the comments below or on your own social with the hashtag #evolving40.
Whatever comes up is what’s meant to be!
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#evolving40 Day 2: Ambition
I’m wired for ambition: It’s a core trait of my personality type, both on the Enneagram (1, The Reformer) and Myers-Briggs (INFJ, The Advocate). I always want to do more, do better, and BE better. Unrealized potential is painful to me.
I often think that I’d be happier without so much ambition. If I could just accept what is, instead of striving for what could be, life would be so peaceful! There’s always more that I want to happen on any given day than I'm able to achieve. Ideas and To Do’s explode into my mind like fireworks. It’s hard for me to relax.
But the positive side of my restless soul is that I’m not satisfied with the status quo; I feel the need to push for a better version of myself and the world around me. Built into my ambition is a desire to be of service, to work for justice, to leave the world a little better than I found it.
During quarantine, I wasn’t able to cross many items off my To Do list, so I had to redefine my ambition. Paradoxically, I aspired to be content with less. Practicing radical acceptance is a both/and situation: We can learn to accept what is AND aspire to a better version of it.
How I’ve evolved: Even though my take on “Less is more” is usually “But more is more!”, I’ve seen the payoff of centering on one priority at a time. Darren and I have made some major home improvements by zooming in on one area of disarray until we resolve it, then another. I’m usually tempted to jump into five other projects, but when I tune out the distractions, we actually finish what we start.
How I’m evolving: Instead of wishing away my ambition, I’m learning to embrace its gifts. Even though it frustrates me that my ambition always exceeds my capacity, I'd find life less fulfilling without it.
