What Are Your Long-Term Ambitions?

Someone asked me today what my long-term ambitions are. Like, not just in a conversational sense–they wanted to know, specifically, what my ambitions are. Here’s the closest answer I could come up with:

Let me begin with where I am now. I’m the Director of Operations at a Newman Center (a Catholic church on a secular college campus). I have a variety of responsibilities, few of which I’m truly passionate about, but there’s enough variety and autonomy that I enjoy coming to work every day (aside from the most stressful part of my job). I augment my reasonable paycheck with little side projects here and there.

I would say that my long-term ambition is autonomy. I’d love for writing/publishing/Blank Slate Press to be a part of that, as well as one or several of my own ventures (TypeTribe, others). These are the things that drive me.

What’s interesting to me–and maybe to you–is that I no longer have a specific long-term plan. Like, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a robot inventor or an architect. Specific careers. Specific goals. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that there are a variety of jobs that could satisfy me. For me, the key isn’t the job itself, it’s the autonomy that comes with certain jobs.

Malcolm Gladwell writes about this in his book Outliers. He says that the three things that make work satisfying are (1) autonomy, (2) complexity, and (3) the connection between effort and value. Do one of those stand out more than the others to you? Gladwell says that you need all three to be truly satisfied.

It’s also interesting to me that this person asked me what my long-term ambitions are, and I immediately thought about my career–not about my health or family. I don’t know what that means, but I’m not sure I like it.

What are your long-term ambitions?

7 thoughts on “What Are Your Long-Term Ambitions?”

  1. The fast that you automatically thought about your career just means you are focusing on that subconsciously right now. If you consciously want to change that, then that’s different. It’s proven men concentrate on their careers more anyway. Don’t feel bad. I wish you luck with accomplishing your career ambitions, and if you decide to concentrate on life ambitions, good luck there too. 🙂 I think we go through cycles. I’m concentrating on more education, advancing at work and just reorganizing my home. Not dating. No need right now. Kind of cool! Freeing actually.

    Jennifer

    Reply
    • Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about my subconscious. I guess I consider myself a pretty balanced person, though, so I was surprised that those other things didn’t even occur to me. That’s not to say that health and friends and family and dating aren’t important to me, but perhaps those things don’t motivate or drive me. Some people make goals based on health (“I want to run a marathon”), but I don’t do that. I just stay healthy by eating right and exercising in fun ways. Some people say, “I want to be married with a kid in 5 years.” I don’t think that way…no disrespect to anyone who has those types of goals (really), that’s just not the way I think.

      I’m glad you feel freed by the lack of dating in your life right now! Cheers to intentional singledom!

      Reply
  2. If you asked me this question 10 years ago my answers would have included: 1. running an orphanage in Romania; 2. Adopting 5 children from different countries, and 3. Starting my own non-profit in the United States. Now, at 33, I have volunteered in European orphanages, I have worked for non-profits, I have a master’s degree, I have a career I like, I have traveled many places and now….my ambition…is to be a mother and hopefully a wife.

    For some they may look at that and say that’s not ambitious at all, but for me, those are the 2 things that have alluded me my whole life. Those are my ambitions.

    Reply
    • Wow, you had grand aspirations! And you found a way to at least partially accomplish all but one of them–that’s awesome. I hope you’re able to achieve your other aspirations as well.

      Reply
  3. I think the word “ambitions” is basically linked to career. If the question had been posed as, “How do you see yourself in 10 years” or “How do you see your life in the long run?” you may have thought of family or similar.

    This idea of career satisfaction is quite the common theme is my household. Is it better to have a steady job that affords you good vacation time, but in which you are not growing. Or is it better to have freelance work, with plenty of vacation time, but a non-steady and unpredictable paycheck, but where you are always growing? The situation is difficult, and the cause of tons of stress. What really is autonomy, and at what cost do you achieve it?

    Reply
    • I don’t know, Lorena. I think ambitions is connected to my career, as well as other like-minded people, but I don’t think it has to be. Ambitions are things that you go after…they don’t necessarily have to be things that you go after in your career. That’s just where my mind went.

      You and your household ask a great question in your second paragraph. Perhaps that’s one of the perks of having a household, though. One person can have that steady job while the other can have autonomy and extra stress, and you can switch positions from time to time.

      Reply
      • Well tell him that and to quit worrying all the time so we can actually enjoy life.

        Anyway, I meant that ambition has a connotation with career.

        Reply

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