being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

Ambition - An Essay by David Whyte

Ambition is a word that lacks any real ambition. Ambition is frozen desire, the current of a vocational life immobilized and over-concretized to set, unforgiving goals.

How to be more ambitious: A tutorial for humans with models

“We’re not ambitious enough” is easy to post and hard to follow. Here’s a practical tutorial, with prompts.

Impatience: The Pitfall of Every Ambitious Person

Big splashes don’t happen. Overnight success doesn’t exist. We have to remind ourselves of that whenever we show impatience.

Chasing life goals is a recipe for disaster – so try these tiny experiments instead

Whether its our careers, health or relationships, we often set the bar too high and end up feeling disappointed when it doesn’t work out. Try this new way of thinking … and you may just see some real results

In 2026, I’m no longer interested in ‘working on myself’

We think of ourselves as full-time projects, but what if doing so much inner work does more harm than good?

The secret to living a meaningful life

Your ambitions to improve your life do not need to be confined by your personality.

Efficiency is the Enemy

If you ever find yourself stressed, overwhelmed, sinking into stasis despite wanting to change, or frustrated when you can’t respond to new opportunities, you need more slack in your life. Here’s how slack works and why you need more of it.

The myth of self-control

Psychologists say using willpower to achieve goals is overhyped. Here’s what actually works.

Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - FROM THE 2025 BBC REITH LECTURER A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE SUMMER 2025 'Gives us hope, humour and guidance at a time when all are in short supply' TIMOTHY SNYDER 'The rare read that might actually help you become a better person' ADAM GRANT THE ANTIDOTE TO APATHY FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RUTGER BREGMAN Every day we're bombarded with methods, mantras and life hacks that promise us wellness and prosperity - while time and talent remain some of our most squandered resources. The average full-time worker will spend 80,000 hours at their job: are you making the most of them? Do you truly believe in what you do, day in, day out? What if you want to do something more with your limited time on the planet? Internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows us that with moral ambition - the will to make the world a wildly better place - we can be both idealistic and successful, and change the world along the way. Uncovering the qualities that made the great change-makers of history so effective, he shows how we too can lend our talents to the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to inequality to the next pandemic. With moral ambition, we can do more than be on the right side of history: we can make history itself. This book won't make your life easier, but it should make it more meaningful. The question is: what will you do with it? As the 2025 BBC Reith Lecturer, Rutger Bregman will present 'Moral Revolution', a four part series: -A Time of Monsters -How To Start a Moral Revolution -A Realist's Utopia -Zoom Out Available to listen on BBC Four

The Ambition Project

A guest post by Jason Brennan

To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind In Life

You don't need more motivation. You don't need to be inspired to action. You don't need to read any more lists and posts about how you're not doing enough. There's a magic beyond us that works in ways we can't understand.

3 Mental Shifts Highly Successful People Make Right Before Their Careers Take Off

Prioritize "clarity over cleverness."

Getting Ahead By Being Inefficient

Inefficient does not mean ineffective, and it is certainly not the same as lazy. You get things done – just not in the most effective way possible. You’re a bit sloppy, and use more energy. But don’t feel bad about it. There is real value in not being the best.

There’s no such thing as motivation

But you can still crush that to-do list.