Ampersand Answers: Making Ambition Work

I think ambition really only means dreams with great purpose. 

Emily Blunt, from a group interview with her co-stars of
The Devil Wears Prada 2 

The Question: 

How can I make ambition serve my life?  

&mpersand Answers: 

Strangely, ambition arrives inside a soul along with a paradox. 

We are told that we must learn to be clear about what we want. Surely, ambition fits in there somewhere. 

But we are also told that we must let it go. 

So which is it? Get clear. Or let go. The answer is: Yes. Both. 

One of the oddities about ambition is that it usually only shows up when there’s something we really are in touch with wanting—a button or a Cadillac, it matters not which. If you really want it, you’re likely to get ambitious about it. 

The problem is the wanting. When we want something, besides desire, it also means we lack whatever that is. If you get stuck on the wanting, you’ll be left with just the wanting. 

The secret to the having is letting it go. Want what you want, by all means. Meditate on it. Think about it. Dream about yourself wearing that button or driving that Cadillac. Feel what you imagine that might feel like. Then let it go.  

It’s in the letting go that you make space for Spirit to work. This is also why how is none of your business. How is Spirit’s business. Your job is to stay with the what, let it go, and give thanks that it’s already accomplished.

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