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Building a better work-life.
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Hey Reader,
Good news first: I had the most amazing launch of my LLC of Me: How to Run Your Job Search Like an Entrepreneur webinar last week with 450+ registrants, glowing feedback – shout out Brisa! 👇 – and 21 new coaching clients on the spot.
(Don’t worry if you missed it, you can watch the recording here.)
Bummer news: The pride I felt lasted about 24 hours.
While I’d exceeded the original goal I’d set for myself—16 new clients—when I saw how “easy” it was, I silently doubled my target.
So Friday morning, instead of waking up to savor the success, I found myself staring at spreadsheets, calculating a new 11-person deficit. With less than two weeks remaining, my fear brain has completely erased the gains I made, and I’m struggling to recapture that initial joy.
Which brings me to something I’ve been wrestling with for decades, and I suspect many of you have too:
👉 Is possible to be ambitious while also being content?
Ambition, by its very definition, means you strive for more, usually through achievements. Inherent in that drive is a certain dissatisfaction with the status quo and a yearning for something different…
Which perhaps means the actual question becomes:
👉 How can you want more while also being at peace with what you have?
In both my life and coaching practice, I’ve found that the greatest source of angst stems from trying to pick between binary options. Success is either this or that. I am either ambitious or content. Win or lose. Enough or not enough.
On the flip side, the ultimate wisdom and groundedness are derived when we learn to hold multiple contradictions together, or as my wife likes to remind me: “Many things can be true at once.”
This practice—and it truly takes practice!—expands our capacity to carry complexity, increasing our options, and with it, the dimensions of our lives.
Because what is a Big Life, if not an ambitious one?
So as I’ve grappled between my own goalposts, standing on the precipice of major business moves (an exciting announcement coming soon!), here are six strategies that are helping me find that elusive balance between striving and savoring—and hopefully will help you too:
1️⃣ Practice “Celebration Pauses”
Listen, I get it. The urge to immediately move the goalposts is SO real. But what if – and stay with me here – we actually gave ourselves permission to absorb our wins first?
Create a mini-ritual that forces you to truly sit with your achievements before rushing to the next thing. For me, it’s a dedicated journal entry where I list out what went well and what I learned. For you, it might be a walk outside, a fancy coffee, or simply sitting still for five minutes and saying out loud, “I did that. That was good.” (Yes, even to your cat – they’re great listeners!)
2️⃣ Set “Process Goals” Alongside “Outcome Goals”
Here’s what happens to me every time: I hit a big number goal and immediately set another, bigger one. Sound familiar?
Try this instead: When you achieve an outcome goal (like my 21 new clients), immediately shift focus to a process goal that keeps you present. For me, this looks like “have meaningful discovery calls with each new client” instead of “get 11 more clients.”
Process goals ground you in the now rather than constantly pushing you into the future. Plus, they’re usually more in your control, which means less anxiety. Win-win.
3️⃣ Create a “Contentment Inventory”
I started doing this last year, and it’s been a game-changer. Once a month, I document what’s working well in my business and life – the clients I love working with, the projects that energize me, the parts of my day I genuinely enjoy.
When ambition threatens to erase your present satisfaction (hello, my life this week), having this inventory to return to reminds you that you’re not starting from zero. You’re building on something valuable.
4️⃣ Practice “Both/And” Thinking
This is what my wife has been trying to teach me for years! Instead of “I’m either satisfied OR ambitious,” try “I am both satisfied with my current success AND excited about future growth.”
When I catch myself in either/or thinking, I literally stop and rephrase it out loud. It feels awkward at first, but it’s like creating new neural pathways in your brain. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes.
5️⃣ Implement “Success Benchmarking”
Here’s something I’ve had to learn the hard way: If you only compare yourself to your most recent goals or competitors, you’ll always feel behind.
Instead, try benchmarking against where you were a year ago. When I look back at where I was last spring versus today, the progress is undeniable. And remember to factor in what else was happening in your life during that time. Were you navigating a pandemic? A health issue? Raising small children? Give yourself some grace.
6️⃣ Cultivate a “Growth Through Gratitude” Mindset
For years, I thought gratitude and ambition were opposing forces. Being grateful meant being content, and being content meant not striving, right?
Wrong. I’ve learned that gratitude can actually fuel growth in a much healthier way. Instead of thinking “I achieved 21 clients but should have gotten 32,” I’m practicing “I’m deeply grateful for these 21 new clients, which both validates my work and gives me the confidence to thoughtfully expand my impact.” The energy feels completely different—less anxious scrambling and more purposeful building on what’s already working.
I’m still figuring this out, just like you probably are. Some days I’m better at it than others. But I’m convinced that the richest, most fulfilling life happens when we can hold both contentment and ambition in the same hand – appreciating what we have while thoughtfully reaching for more.
What about you? How do you balance being content with wanting more? Hit reply and let me know – I read every message!
Now go get paid.
x Claire
PS Want to be coached 1:1 by me? Schedule your complementary call here!
In this week’s newsletter:
🗓️ RSVP: The Ambition Trap with Amina AlTai
🤗 Beyond Balance (Tools for Integration Instead)
🎥 LLC of Me: How to Run Your Job Search Like an Entrepreneur
