How to Be More Ambitious at Any Age

The word ambition is loaded with good and bad connotations, depending on the circles you run in. In my mind, ambition is a good thing that we should all strive for.

Ambition can mean:

Ambition’s definition is broad enough to include everyone from grandparents and retirees to teenagers and entrepreneurs. It doesn’t have to be about achieving success in financial terms or even being recognized for what you achieve. Ambition can be intensely personal and relational—deciding to be a better friend, neighbor, host, gardener, or conversationalist. At its core, ambition is simply a strong desire to make something better.

People who lose their ambition may also lose their zest for life. It’s not as if ambition and enjoyment are at odds with one another. Many of the people I most respect combine an intentional life with a great deal of fun. I think there’s something about ambition that just makes people come alive, and that carries over into every facet of life.

While I could go on and on about the benefits of living ambitiously, my goal is to leave you with a few practical tips for how to start thinking along these lines. If you’ve let the flame of desire burn down in your life, you may need a refresher on what it means to dream big again.

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1. Take on Projects That Intimidate You

You don’t grow without struggle—without the real possibility of failure. Maybe you’re afraid of uncertainty or worried that you’re too old to see your project through to the end. Give no heed to those anxieties and set out toward your goal while there’s still time.

2. Read Biographies of Lifelong Ambitious People

Raise your personal standards. Whatever you do, you can always try to do it better. Better can mean faster, with more care, or with an eye toward growth. There’s almost always room for at least 1 percent improvement, and the more you look for it, the more you see it everywhere.

3. Develop a Long-Term Life-Vision

Rather than just thinking about tomorrow or the week, set your sights out a little further. Think of what you’d like to do this month, this year, or even in the next five years. We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, but underestimate what’s possible with several years of intentional effort.

4. Surround Yourself With People Pursuing Their Dreams

One of the best ways to live with greater resolve and purpose is to surround yourself with those who are already doing it. Having purposeful friends can shake you out of your complacency and inspire you with new ideas and fresh enthusiasm.

5. Create a List of Things You Want to Do

One quiet failure mode is thinking of life as something that just happens to you. In our comfortable existence, it can certainly feel that way sometimes. Instead of going with the flow, taking in just what others create, and trying to get by, you can set out and do your own things. Anything really, but the more it scares you, the better.

6. Compete With Your Past Self

Ambition doesn’t have to mean competing with others; it can be as gentle as choosing one thing you care about and trying to make it better. It can also mean competing against yourself as you grow older. Sure, you may not be able to compete physically with your younger self, but can you be more patient, more generous, or more bold?

7. Take on Greater Responsibilities

It’s under the weight of pressure and obligation that we find what we’re made of. Left to our own devices, few of us would choose the hard road, but when we commit to doing the right thing as part of a community, we find inner resources we never knew we had.

You might feel that ambition is for other people, not someone like yourself who just wants to get by and enjoy life. But what if what you presently call “good enough” is just the tip of what’s possible? Without even realizing it, that’s how many of us are living—when far greater experiences are within our reach.

A richer life is the reward of ambition, not the money or status that so many are chasing. It is through striving that we become the best versions of ourselves and enjoy the best life available to us.