There seems to be an assumption that ambition belongs to younger people.
We're ambitious when we're building careers, growing businesses, raising families and working towards goals.
Then, at some point, we're expected to become less ambitious.
To settle.
To slow down.
To be content with what we've already achieved.
The older I get, the less convinced I am that this is true.
I don't think ambition disappears.
I think it changes.
And sometimes, in the midst of busy lives, we simply lose sight of it.
The Shape of Ambition Changes
When I think back to my twenties, my ambitions were very different from the ones I have today.
Some of them were about proving something.
Some were about achievement.
Some were about experiences I wanted to have and places I wanted to visit.
As life unfolded, those ambitions naturally evolved.
The things that matter to me now are not necessarily the things that mattered ten, twenty or thirty years ago.
That feels healthy.
After all, as we change, our ambitions should too.
The problem isn't that our ambitions change.
The problem is assuming that because some ambitions no longer matter, we are no longer ambitious.
My Forgotten "50 Before 50" List
A few years ago, I created a list of 50 things I wanted to do before turning 50.
At the time, it felt important.
Exciting.
A reminder that life wasn't just about work, responsibilities and obligations.
Recently, I came across it again.
What surprised me wasn't how many things I'd completed.
It was how long it had been since I'd looked at it.
Some of the things on the list no longer resonate.
I've changed.
My priorities have changed.
My life has changed.
But some of them still sparked something.
A sense of curiosity.
A feeling of possibility.
A reminder that there were parts of myself I'd stopped paying attention to.
When Work Becomes the Default Home for Ambition
One of the things I've noticed about myself is how easily work becomes the default home for ambition.
I love my work.
I enjoy creating, learning, supporting clients and exploring new ideas.
There is always another possibility to pursue.
Another project to develop.
Another conversation to have.
Because work is visible and immediate, it naturally attracts attention.
And before we realise it, all our ambition can become focused in one area of life.
The ambitions that matter outside work don't disappear.
They simply receive less attention.
The trip we'd like to take.
The experience we'd like to have.
The cause we'd like to support.
The hobby we'd like to revisit.
The friend we'd like to spend more time with.
The things that don't appear in our diary unless we intentionally make space for them.
The Ambitions That Have Faded
Looking back at my old list, I can see ambitions that genuinely belonged to a different season of life.
Not every dream is meant to stay with us forever.
Some ambitions serve a purpose and then fall away.
And that's okay.
Letting go of ambitions that no longer fit is just as important as pursuing new ones.
The Ambitions That Still Matter
But there are other ambitions that still feel important.
They've just become buried beneath everyday life.
Not because I made a conscious decision to stop caring about them.
But because work, responsibilities and routine quietly occupied all the available space.
Reconnecting with those ambitions hasn't been about creating bigger goals.
It's been about creating enough space to hear them again.
The Role of Energy
This is one of the reasons I'm so interested in energy.
Because I don't think most people are held back by a lack of ambition.
Nor do I think we're usually held back by a lack of knowledge.
Often, we're simply depleted.
Or busy.
Or carrying more than we realise.
When energy is low, life becomes focused on immediate demands.
We do what needs doing.
We get through the week.
We keep everything moving.
But when energy improves, something else happens.
Possibility returns.
We start thinking beyond today's to-do list.
We remember things we once cared about.
We reconnect with ambitions that have been waiting patiently in the background.
A Question I've Been Sitting With
I'm increasingly convinced that ambition doesn't disappear in midlife.
It evolves.
And sometimes it gets buried.
So the question I've been reflecting on recently is:
Which ambitions have genuinely changed, and which ones have simply been waiting for my attention?
Perhaps that's a useful question for all of us.
What do you still want from life and work that deserves a little more space than it's currently getting?
