As ambitious entrepreneurs, we lean towards always wanting more.
It’s that discontent that perpetually lights a fire under us to keep us going, to always have that edge, to make our goals happen and pursue our dreams.
But that competitive drive can also make us feel a little spiritually conflicted when we also feel like we should be more grateful for what we already have.
After all, we’re good people. We want to feel like we’re living our absolute best life, so that same tendency towards having high expectations of ourselves can also make us feel like we need to measure up to certain moral codes as well–like being grateful.
So what do we do with this friction between wanting more (whether that’s more money, time, achievement, etc.) and feeling like we should be more content with what we have (a loving family, a roof over our heads, political freedom, etc.)?
This was a question that was looming large for me over the past few months, so I made it a spiritual goal this quarter to explore this relationship between ambition and gratitude.
I even talked to my therapist about it.
And after chewing on this concept, picking up some pointers from my therapist, and analyzing some articles that quite truthfully ticked me off (like those life coaches who are in the camp of letting go of the outcome of our work–sounds pretty, but I’m just not there), I’ve found a happy place with this issue by being granted a fresh new way of looking at it.
Here’s what I realized.
Wanting more and being grateful for what I have are not mutually exclusive.
Until now, I felt like I had to pick a camp. Either you’re grateful, or you’re driven.
Instead of focusing on the moral implication of how I should feel overall (i.e., content all the time), I’m focusing more now on enjoying what I do have.
It’s actually a little more self-serving, but not in a bad way. In a way that lets me be true to myself and just do what’s most helpful. (I tend to find that guilt isn’t very helpful in most situations.)
For me, gratitude is less about a moral imperative and more about not leaving joy on the table.
If I can maximize my feelings of joy around those things I already have–a supportive, hot husband of 6 years, a new house that’s just right for our family, 2 darling Chihuahuas (who I wish were a little more potty-trained), and a small but mighty online tribe of Wellthy Bosses I respect so much, then I get to enjoy them that much more.
So there still may be huge categories of my life that I’d like to work towards more abundance in (time, finances, etc.,), but I get to make the most of what I already have received or accomplished.
In other words,
I’m not letting the things I do still want in life take away from the joy of what I already have.
We can deeply want to change certain circumstances while still reveling in what’s already going well.
And here’s a key benefit from taking this “both-and” approach:
By being appreciative of what we already have, we are priming ourselves to fully enjoy all those things we’re still working towards achieving and accomplishing in the future.
Because what good is it to achieve things without ever enjoying them? The more we’re in the habit of enjoying what we have now, the better able we’ll be to celebrate those future goals when we do achieve them.
Ready to dip your toe in the ocean that is mindfulness? But do it in a way that complements your drive rather than beats you up over it?
Join my free 7-day Mindset Mantra Challenge, where every day for a week you’ll receive a daily text message with a mantra for the day–specifically crafted for what we overworked entrepreneurs struggle with the most.
