6: Whose Ambition Is it?

Ambition can often look clear on the surface. You’re achieving, delivering, and moving forward. But what if the ambition driving you isn’t actually yours? 

You may have sensed this for some time, but stayed caught up in the demands of work. Now something feels different. You want to pursue what matters to you. 

In this episode, you’ll explore: 

• How career misalignment builds over time 
• Why performance can be mistaken for ambition, leaving you unfulfilled 
• Where to start so your ambition becomes your own 

You have a choice in what comes next. 

If you want support with this, the free guide Know Yourself and Own Your True Ambition is available at TheActionWithin.com 

Full transcript at: TheActionWithin.com/6 

Transcript

Hello and welcome back. 

Ambition is a tricky topic because it can mean different things to different people. 

For some, it feels forceful, driven, almost relentless. For others, it’s quieter, more internal, more about fulfilment.  

However you see it, one thing is true. Your ambition is personal to you. 

But if you are in a career that has never felt quite right, whose ambition are you working towards?

Today we are exploring how ambition can get lost in performance and delivery and why making a career change that truly fits you starts with understanding yourself and what ambition really means for you. 

The full transcript is available at theactionwithin.com/6.

Your days start to roll into each other. The pressure builds, you deliver and you keep everything moving forward. 

You’ve questioned it before. Wondered what you’re doing. 

But you’ve never had the capacity to stop and think about your work, or your ambition.

At some point, your career took the lead and you became the passenger. 

Now there are days where you don’t feel like yourself.  You’re tired from trying to make it work, to fit in, to be who you think you need to be. 

And because you care about doing things well, you don’t do half jobs. So you keep going. You push for results. 

But it doesn’t feel good inside. 

You know there is more to you than this. More to your life than what you’re doing right now.

Was there ever a clear idea of what you wanted your career to be?

It’s ok if not. That’s more common that you might think. 

You leave University and move in the direction that makes the most sense at the time. 

You build experience and gain confidence. Over time, your ability to perform and to deliver under pressure becomes what you are known for. 

These are valued skills. It’s no surprise you have done well because you make things happen.

But somewhere along the way, that became the focus. What you deliver started to matter more than who you are.

You’re seen as reliable, capable. Someone who will get the job done. 

Someone others can depend on.

But where are you in all of this? What matters to you? What do you want?

Those questions linger more these days. 

Asking the questions is not the hard part. It’s giving yourself space to answer that is hard.

Because the reality is, you’ve given so much to your work and been recognised for it. But it came at a cost. 

Somewhere along the way, you lost sight of yourself whilst helping to deliver what others needed. 

I’ve been there. I worked long hours, travelled constantly, didn’t eat, hydrate properly and or sleep well. 

But I delivered. And that is what mattered, wasn’t it?

There was a point where work became more important than me. 

Looking back, I can see I wanted to prove I was capable. And then I felt the pressure to keep proving it. 

Everything centred around the work. The deadlines. The people. The progress. 

It became a constant cycle of needing to show I was good enough. 

When you’re deep in that way of working, it’s hard to see what’s really going on. 

For me, it was when my body called time that I asked the questions and gave myself space to answer them.

Who was I doing this for? What matters to me? What do I want to achieve?

The reality is you can find yourself doing a lot of things you don’t want to do when the conditions are right, and you are being satisfied in some way. 

I talk about this in Episode 5. It’s often what keeps you in it.

It can look like ambition on the surface, but really it’s only performance. 

When your own ambition isn’t clear, it’s easy to fill that space with activity. 

You take on what’s around you and step into the ambition of others. And for a while, it works. 

It gives you a sense of purpose, a feeling of worth. It keeps you moving forward. 

But without a direction of your own, there’s no natural endpoint. 

You keep going, taking on more, saying yes, filling the space. And over time, that’s what leads to burnout.  

It can take a long time to even realise that you can have your own ambition.

Because when you start to think about ambition, your mind often goes straight to what you do. Your role. Your work. The responsibilities.  

That makes sense. When you’ve been focussed on delivering for so long, you naturally think in terms of what, when and how. 

But ambition goes beyond that. 

It’s how you want to grow, to show up, what you want to contribute. It’s about intention.

And giving yourself time to answer that is a choice. 

Someone else’s ambition…or your own? 

Greg McKeown, author and leadership expert said “Your ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away. It can only be forgotten." 

But what has been forgotten can be remembered. You are remembering you can choose. 

Defining your ambition starts with you knowing yourself. Moving beyond the version of you that’s been shaped by work, and reconnecting with who you really are.

So today’s question is simple:

What do you know about yourself? 

This is your starting point. The place where things become clearer.

If you want support with this, my free guide 4 Secrets to Know Yourself and Own Your True Ambition is available on my website TheActionWithin.com

You’ve spent a long time delivering, showing up, and meeting expectations. 

Now it’s time to choose yourself.