Embracing The Power Of Ambition
Nov 16, 2021
Have you ever had a goal so bold you were scared to say it out loud? I have definitely been guilty of tempering my ambition at times. As a former soccer player and forever competitor, I love to win. We all do, right? That’s why it can be so tempting to shrink our goals from truly audacious to more comfortable.
While there’s certainly a case to be made for setting realistic, manageable goals, I’d venture to guess many of us err on the side of being too safe most of the time. So, let’s talk about what can happen when we choose to aim higher instead.
“...Many of us err on the side of being too
safe most of the time."
Several years back, I joined a peer group of entrepreneurs and business executives. We called ourselves the Young Executive Board. Every three weeks, we met to encourage and challenge one another in our respective business endeavors. I’ll never forget one meeting when I shared a goal I had set for myself. To me, the goal felt crazy big, almost ridiculous actually. Yet, when I said it out loud, no one in the room even batted an eye.
My colleagues believed in me more than I believed in myself. Hearing the group’s words of encouragement helped me realize I was capable. While that particular group has since dissolved, I have remained committed to finding people that hold me accountable to my bigger future. From being in Strategic Coach, to having several informal study groups with my peers, to joining a mastermind of female leaders: I concur with Dan Sullivan's statement, "The greatest resource entrepreneurs transform is themselves."
“When you surround yourself with people who have the confidence to dream big, getting over your own fear of failure is that much easier."
In addition to people who cheer me on and show me that it’s okay to be bold, tracking my own success against benchmarks I set has also helped me embrace my ambition. I’ve learned from experience that devising resolutions at the top of the year isn’t enough. A regular cadence of measuring where I am, in relation to where I want to be, holds me to the progress I want to achieve and helps me remember to celebrate my wins.
Business and life change so frequently that I need to revisit my goals at least quarterly to ensure they’re still relevant. Many years ago, Strategic Coach introduced me to the idea of “The Gap and The Gain”– that is, naturally understanding where you haven’t quite met your goals, but also turning around and looking backward to take in how far you’ve come. I find that mapping out where I am between the “The Gap” and “The Gain” visually helps me to shift and refocus as part of that quarterly reflection.
Revisiting goals also gives you the opportunity to turn the page on goals that no longer fit your vision. After reading Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud, I was reminded that being ambitious for ambition’s sake takes you nowhere. It’s okay to step away from plans that don’t serve you. Doing so might actually make way for the next bold idea to take root.
When you are brave enough to claim big goals, you might surprise yourself. As I'm stepping into a new season that I've felt the tug to pursue for years, and as we approach the annual time of thanksgiving, I am full of gratitude for stepping out in faith. I trust that all things are working out for my good and that I always have a choice in my next move; the power of self-permission is, admittedly, a radically new idea to me that I am choosing to embrace.
“When you are brave enough to claim big
goals, you might surprise yourself."
Where are you holding back? What’s keeping you from embracing the power of ambition in your work and personal life? Maybe it’s time to finally speak that revenue goal out loud or overcome the lie that you can’t land your dream client or take on that new idea that's been tapping your shoulder for years. Go for it. .
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