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I wouldn't call it anti-ambition — just ambition in another direction. Wanting and working towards a life of balance and fulfilment is just as ambitious as climbing the corporate ladder.
Then there's the Lie Flat movement in China which, in the defence of young Chinese, is at some level a reasonable response of sheer exhaustion to a very challenging and competitive environment.
I’m very ambitious. I have a strong ambition to work no more than 40 hours a week, have a healthy relationship with my wife, and get down to 10% body fat. Why is career ambition the only thing that people seem to think matters?
Chief
Yeah, it's odd to suggest that making your job your #1 priority in life is the definition of ambition.
We are not in an age of anti ambition. That author just wants clicks by repackaging other, normal things. We are navigating large scale shifts in technological and societal norms. For example, 50 years ago, women were largely relegated to being stay at home moms, which provided men with the bandwidth needed to work long hours. Today, with 2 working parents, both can't work that way unless they can afford a nanny, which has tradeoffs. So they readjust the focus to accommodate life and work.
We are also asking questions like "why kill myself for a job that would lay me off in an instant, has a lackluster culture and doesn't even pay that well anyway?" Which is a very old question, not anything new. In the past, organized labor, strikes and demands for more money and better working conditions handled this question. Today, other approaches are needed.
A1 I laughed at your comment but it was truly ‘uplifting’ 😭😂😃
I do enough to not lose my health insurance and job that’s it. I don’t lack ambition I lack a desire to be coerced into doing more and more work I don’t like for money I don’t really need and prestige that means nothing outside of work. We are sold this nonsense that our value is tied to our work and we need to work real hard to get ahead. Well I do the bare minimum and people seem to love my work so what I’ve learned is it’s more optics and getting things done efficiently than working to the bone to impress others. Go outside have a beer with a friend and visit your parents if you like them. Fuck corporate capitalism the system is rigged for the wealthy and unless you’re smart enough to see it for what it is or are able to take advantage of the levers the wealthy use to get ahead your fucked no matter how hard you work.
Yea, my motivation has definitely dwindled since the pandemic started
I personally lost a lot of my ambition in last few years. Just feel burned out and getting raises / bonuses is nice in the moment when I get them but ultimately kind of meaningless to me as I was living comfortable ten years ago and still am.
Only reason I haven’t left yet is because I can’t figure out what I want to do and am worried I’d get stuck in a cycle of doing nothing.
I agree GT1 and WU1 that anti-ambition is the wrong term. Although in my own life and conversations with friends they're less willing to kill themselves for roles/companies that don't show up for and invest in their employees. There is also a greater push to find fulfillment elsewhere (i.e. non-profit, volunteering, self care, family). I don't think that it shows a lack of ambition but a refocus and a stronger push for sustainable careers. There's so much burnout and it's industry agnostic.
So if you are less “professionally” ambitious, are you also correcting expectations on longer term earning potential, lifestyle and managing the increasing costs due to inflation? That’s the million (or lower! 😀) dollar question.
I think it's more that people recognize we can have different priorities
I personally chose to give up WLB to pursue a career I enjoy more. It's just that I recognize it's a sacrifice I am willing to make and need to for what I want.
There are some people who seem to prioritize hours and pay because they won't enjoy a role no matter what, and that's fine too.
Makes sense. What is the point of drive if everyone will just end up renting an overpriced apartment because real estate prices skyrocketed beyond reach?
I still work about 55 hours per week, but I definitely internalize work far less. When I’m away from my computer, work is really not on my mind. I just don’t care about it, and that’s fine by me.
This happened to me too. I used to obsess over projects and try to get ahead in evenings and weekends. Just stopped caring altogether and almost never check emails on weekends now unless I know I have to be online.
LinkedIn would cease to exist if people lacked ambition (based on their definition of ambition). Also this article is not based on anything. People sitting at kitchen tables asking existential questions during a pandemic? You don’t say! I can’t keep up— first we draw lines between generations and assign motivation based on age, then we throw everyone into an existential bubble and declare the death of ambition. I am waiting for the article on how the Ukraine war will turn us all into hippies.
Let the anti- ambition era begin, but me and my ambitions will continue to hunch over my laptop so I can eventually nurse bottomless cocktails in a beach and won’t be forced into the anti- retirement era when it inevitably comes for those taking a backseat.
Gotta tell you, this kinda describes me these days
Two years of COVID-foot-off-the-pedal was more than enough for me. Glad to be back at the hustle.
For me it was accepting that I won’t find my passion at work and so work became a way to enable me to pursue my passion outside work.
This remove the frustration of desperately trying to find “passion” at work and pushes me to prioritize work life balance so I have the time to enjoy life outside work.