Conscious Ambition Tips: Make it up as you go
Unlike what we’re told (find a path!) or we naturally want (don’t change on me!), I believe we should expect our ambitions to change over time. I think something is likely wrong if our ambitions don’t evolve. Our paths aren’t fixed. We can enter liminal spaces, navigate through them, and trust that we can make it up as we go along.
Conscious Ambition Tips
Allow ambitions to take shape over time.
“Slow down you're doing fine... You can't be everything you want to be before your time.” — Billy Joel, lyrics from Vienna
In his lyrics, I think Billy Joel was alluding to the adjacent possible. What might be possible now, because it’s time?
Let curiosity be your guide.
“Curiosity is more important than knowledge.” — Albert Einstein
Following your curiosities can help you make it up as you go along. Where to look? Your curiosity attractors. This is another great piece by Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs on the topic where she explains how curiosity attractors tap into three different aspects of curiosity—wanting to learn, connecting with others, and indulging in novelty. Essentially, what she teaches us is that curiosity attractors are clues to who we are and what we value now.
If you’re wondering what’s next or what might be in your adjacent possible, pay attention to what you’re curious about now.
Cultivate space for curiosity and creativity.
“Inspiration is merely the reward for working every day.” — Charles Baudelaire, poet and art critic Source: Curiosities Esthetiques (1868)
It’s hard for us to notice our curiosities and for ideas to show up when we’re running from thing to thing, living a full life, or when we’re constantly distracted. It takes discipline to carve out space for discovery and exploration. And it takes consistently showing up to do so, even when we don’t feel like it.
When we have space, when we show up consistently over time, ideas flow more easily. Inspiration strikes. We can see threads and experience synchronicity.
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