A lack of ambition can be a bit of a blessing and a curse depending on how you see it.
On the one hand you are freed from the insatiable and constant desire for more. On the other hand it is a very empty feeling which can leave you directionless and rudderless.
Having a healthy sense of purpose and direction is good for you. Being too ambitious has its downsides, but a positively oriented magnanimous ambition is a wonderful thing.
If you lack ambition, the key thing is to look for signs and determine why that is the case. Then you need to dig deep and unpack that reason and figure out what is holding you back.
Only then can you take steps to overcome a lack of ambition.
The good news is that ambition is something that can be developed even if it doesn’t seem to come naturally.
Why You Lack Ambition
1. Ambition Feels Empty
A common reason why people lack ambition is because the goals they feel they should have are uninspiring.
Perhaps you are chasing other people’s goals, maybe your parents.
Perhaps when you have chased goals in the past and achieved them it felt hollow.
Either way, ambition feels spiritually and emotionally empty.
2. You Have No Interests
It’s quite common to go through phases in life, particularly in youth, where you don’t have much interest in anything.
The idea that you would strive for something seems crazy. You would rather just live for the moment and do the best with what you have.
While that is admirable on the one hand, it is definitely limiting.
3. You Have Low Self-Esteem
If you feel like you are not capable of achieving much, then naturally there is little desire to be ambitious.
Why bother striving for something if you don’t believe you can get there.
If this is the cause of your lack of ambition, you will have to dig deep into your self-esteem issues.
4. You Have A Fear of Failure
Perhaps you do have goals. But they seem too far-fetched. You don’t have the confidence to back yourself because you are afraid you might fail.
It’s not that you have low self-esteem, you know you are capable and you can set and achieve smaller goals.
However, you won’t set anything too ambitious because, well, that’s too ambitious.
5. You Are Overwhelmed
The modern world has a lot of choice.
School, college, jobs, where you want to live, whether you want to get married and have kids.
It’s easy for it all to get a bit much and for the desire to just retreat in to your comfort zone to dominate.
How To Overcome A Lack of Ambition
1. Recognise It’s Okay Not To Have Stereotypical Ambitions
Perhaps you don’t want what your parents want for you. Perhaps you don’t want what the culture wants for you.
It’s okay not to have the stereotypical ambitions of a better job and a bigger house.
However, that is not a reason to have no ambition. You still have to be moving forward for something in life, otherwise you stagnate.
If traditional ambition feels hollow or shallow, find something else to be ambitious about.
2. Take The Time To Figure Out What You Want
This sounds simple but many people don’t do it. They don’t give permission for themselves to do so.
They are so tied up by what their parents want or what society wants that they never give any thought to what they want.
If this applies to you, then give yourself permission. It’s not a one-time conversation you have with yourself but is rather something that you explore overtime.
However, you need to know what excites you and motivates you if you are ever to develop some ambition.
3. Confront Your Insecurities And Fear of Failure
Insecurities and fear of failure will hold you back in life.
You may never slay these demons completely but you cannot back down without a fight either.
At some point you must confront them, otherwise they will always retain their power over you.
As you get better at overcoming insecurities and conquering fear of failure, you will start to see your own abilities more clearly and you will get more ambitious.
4. Grow In Magnanimity
Ambition for the sake of ambition does feel hollow. But if you focus on growing your magnanimity for the sake of developing your virtue and character, then ambition will naturally flow.
It won’t be forced and it won’t be hollow. It will be the natural response to the improvement in your recognition of yourself and your own talents.
5. Get A Mentor
A mentor can help deal with issues of self-doubt and insecurity.
But more importantly, a mentor can help you see what is possible if you don’t initially see it yourself.
A mentor sees things in you that you often don’t see and they look past the faults that you amplify in your own mind.
Time well spent with a good mentor can stretch you in ways you never thought possible and can open your mind to the possibilities that you could achieve.
6. Try Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a guided relaxation that uses suggestive messaging to influence your subconscious mind.
It allows you access a state of heightened focus and suggestibility, where you’re more open to positive changes in your thinking patterns. This includes reframing your subconscious attiudes towards ambition.
Conclusion
The way to overcome a lack of ambition is firstly through recognition of the root cause of the issue.
Then it’s a case of figuring out what you want, overcoming the self imposed barriers and taking steps towards what you want.
