Picture this.
It’s 10 PM and I’m excited about life. I decide to go to the gym tomorrow at 8 AM.
The morning arrives, and I peel my body out of bed, and I don’t go to the gym.
What happened? It’s fluctuating ambition.
Four Reasons Why Ambition Fluctuates:
1. Energy Levels
Energy levels usually determine our desires in the moment. If energy
is low, so is ambition. Who can conquer the world while taking a nap?
2. Procrastination
Ambitious night Stephen runs the first leg of what I call the delayed
responsibility relay race. “Ok, morning Stephen, you can take it from
here.” Morning Stephen then passes the baton off to afternoon Stephen,
who gives it to tomorrow Stephen, who trips.
Procrastination is easy, but it messes up ambition.
If you want to make progress, but also want to delay the work, you’ll
get ambitious when you can’t do anything about it. You’ll label tasks
as non-urgent and pass the baton to sleeping *your name here*, who can’t
do anything but sleep. This cycle often repeats itself and nothing gets
done!
3. Fear of real opportunities
Bold ideas are tamed like a circus tiger when you know they’ll never
happen. What’s scary about the idea of fighting crime when you’re at
home in your pajamas? Nothing, but it’s scary to walk the streets with
the full intention of engaging evil doers!
When I saw the beautiful girl at the zoo, it was intimidating to walk
up and talk to her, so I didn’t (true story, isn’t it great? I should
have learned to talk to strangers).
When you’re sitting down at your computer with an hour to spare, it’s
easier not to write the outline for your first novel. So we decide to
eat ice cream instead.
Meaningful action is scarier than meaningless action. That’s the
takeaway point.¬†If you only find yourself inspired when you can’t do
anything about it, there’s a good chance you fear real opportunities.
4. Lacking confidence
Related to fear, low confidence will stop you from doing great
things. Ambition the night before shows you want it, but it could be
that deep inside you don’t believe you’ll get the results you want. If
you don’t envision success, you’ll avoid action.
The higher your confidence, the more stable your ambitiometer will be.
Five Solutions To Conquer Fluctuating Ambition
1. Learn to turn your brain off
In times of extreme ambition, you think clearest about what you want.
Since you’re likely removed from the action aspect of it, you’re not
scared to imagine a great future. Don’t be fooled by your tired, timid,
scared self the next day, because you’re overthinking it. A great
solution to this problem is to turn your brain off
and mindlessly do whatever your earlier self said would improve your
life. If you can master this trick, you’ll form good habits, which will
carry you through times of low ambition.
2. Find your prior mindset
Maybe, for one reason or another, you can’t shut your mental stations
down. In this case, try to recapture your ambitious thoughts and
feelings. How did you get ambitious before? Why were your ideas
appealing then? The only thing that’s changed is you – your ambitious
ideas from before are still great. Focus on the exciting benefits of
taking action and you might just reclaim your ambition before the day is
gone.
3. Do something else
Just kidding. What a terrible idea. No!
4. Talk to a friend
Have you ever talked to a friend about something and answered all of
your questions without them saying a word? Knowing that another mind is
analyzing their thoughts and ideas makes people think in a more logical
manner. Beyond that, friends can offer new insights and ideas to help
you move forward.
If you said you were going to work out the night before and now
you’re tired, perhaps encouragement from a friend will convince you to
stick to your original plan or maybe your friend will join you at the
gym! Two wolves are more powerful than a lone wolf.
5. Move it
Yes, physically move around.
Ambition is a mental trait, and the best way to jumpstart yourself
mentally is to get active (or yes, caffeine works too, you addicts!).
Even a brisk walk can do wonders for your ambition. Once I ran a few
miles and came home frustrated. Why? I had so many ideas during the run
that I couldn’t remember them all.
Exercise is magic.
6. Learn to love progress 
I added a bonus sixth step because #3 didn’t count.
Everyone loves success, but progress is the choice of champions.
Progress is how every single expert becomes an expert. Progress is how
athletes become elite. Progress is how you’ll get good enough to achieve
whatever your ambition drives you towards.
Don’t focus on success, or your ambition will jump around according
to your results and fluctuating expectations of reaching success or
failing.
But when you focus on progress, you’ll always get it with effort, and
your ambition will remain stable if your aim is true. Progress can be
made without success, but success won’t happen without progress.
Where is your ambition at? If your ambitiometer is low, use these
tips to recharge it. If your ambition is soaring, it’s probably two in
the morning and you can’t do anything about it, but now you’ll know what
to do to recapture the magic when it’s time for action.
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