Can You Be Ambitious and Grateful at the Same Time?

I would never discourage anyone from wanting something more. More money, more freedom, more love, more joy, more success. But I also recognise that most of us are extremely lucky to have what we do.

Warm house, clean clothes, warm food, vacations, free education, healthcare and everything else we’re lucky enough to have almost constant access to.

So there’s a question: how do we strive for more without being ungrateful for what we have?

By definition, aren’t we automatically unappreciative by working so hard for more?

It’s a tricky one. Is it even possible to do both? 

Two things can be true at the same time: We can be extremely lucky to have what we have, and also have the ability and means to get more.

Yes, you might be lucky enough to have a job, some people struggle for years and would do anything to just have that. But does that mean you shouldn’t strive to get a better job if it’s making you miserable? Should it even be making you miserable in the first place?

To avoid getting too deep into the weeds here. Let’s simplify: Regardless of where we are and what we have, it’s quite literally impossible, as human beings, to stop wanting more.

That answers one question: No, it’s not unappreciative to want something more, even if people would kill to have what you’re trying so hard to get rid of.

The only thing left then is balance. How do we remain grateful without losing our ambition? The answer is they don’t have to conflict with each other.

Gratitude and ambition aren't opposing experiences. Gratitude is appreciating the value in what you already have. Ambition is the excitement in what you might have next.

You can simultaneously be grateful for what your job provides, and also live in recognition that you don’t have to settle for how it makes you feel. And wanting something different doesn’t automatically suggest you don’t appreciate what you already have.

We’re not idiots, we know that there are better jobs and opportunities out there that can create a completely different and improved life than what we currently live, and the people that have them are no different to us, so it’s within our very rights to ask the question: why not me? 

If your ambition stems from a lack of gratitude, though, they’re probably going to collide. This is why it’s so important to strive toward a life that you genuinely want, instead of striving toward something just to get away from what you currently have. 

Balancing between gratitude and ambition is difficult, but there are things you can actionably do:

1. Practice gratitude. Gratitude isn’t something you either have or don’t, it’s something you practice and improve. If you struggle with appreciating what you have, practice gratitude.
2. Intrinsic motivation. Again, if you’re only chasing something to get away from another, you might struggle to appreciate your surroundings and get stuck on the hedonic treadmill. To avoid this, find something that you genuinely love to do, and chase that instead.

Be grateful for what you have, and go get what you want!