Ambition Is Out of Style - But a Tarot Reading Will Tell You Where You Really Are on This Trend

 Ambition is total Americana. That dates back to Puritan times. Lack it and you will be labeled a loser. We don't want your kids playing with out kids. The sickness could be contagious.

Now that belief system is collapsing. The Guardian reports that ambition has gone out of style. Part of that had been triggered by the reflections on work during the life-and-death times of COVID. And, part was simply an undertow as we watched those who had given it all to work laid off or, if over-50, put out to pasture. 

All that death-of-ambition sounds quite pat. The message supposedly is: You can pay lots more attention to work-life balance now. 

Sure, get a full seven-hours sleep instead of answering all those emails. 

Do you really need to pile on another professional degree such as the M.B.A. 

This weekend I took it in. Sort of. 

During the afternoon I "should have" been sending out marketing material. Instead I washed the car, jaw-jawed with neighors, and got caught up in the Netflix documenary on rogue auto-maker John DeLorean - "Myth and Mogul." (I had worked full-time at GM where there had been plenty of buzz about him.) 

But the reality, as in all trends, is that we are unique individuals. Part of the trend might resonate with us. Part may undo us if we force-fit it on ourselves. Currently there is plenty of pressure to put the brakes on extreme ambition. Or at least take on the protective coloring about being relaxed about achievement. 

That's where a Tarot reading might unlock the needed insight - and the courage and strength to be true to ourselves.

It was The New York Times which has saluted the Tarot as a splendid tool for self-awareness. There is also the recent book "Tarot for Change" by Jessica Dore.

After my non-work long afternoon I felt compelled to do a one-card pull for my DIY Tarot reading. That, I figured, could bring "relief."

I was being "tormented" by obsessive thinking about how my former client Brad Karp, Chairperson of law firm Paul Weiss, had spent his day. 

Was he entertaining prospects for new business? 

Conferring with law firm partners on a management issue? 

Providing feedback on an innovative strategy for a merger and acquistion? 

I couldn't imagine him streaming a movie. 

Should I be ashamed that I had not been productive in a work way? (I did save $25 washing my own car.). I did report (confess) to a close friend that I hadn't done much this weekend. He just rolled his eyes, never having Great Expectations about the psychic payoff from work. 

Also there had been all my colleagues posting on LinkedIn about the projects they were so joyfully pursuing. Those posts heaped praise on each other for their purpose-filled ventures. It was the Happy Valley of tireless strivers. 

Should I continue to be more like them? And ignore that real sense of happiness and peace I felt this afternoon?

So, what card did I pull out of the Tarot deck? 

It was from the Major Arcana, that is, those cards focused on macro issues: The High Priestess Card. She warns us that our supposed secrets aren't secrets. I felt the pull right into the force field of my unconscious. Nonono, it was no secret that I was having a hard time trying to shake off the traditional beliefs of ambition. Yet, I was enjoying my bits and pieces of taking it easy. The relationship with my dog Arizona had become closer.

In addition, from doing one-card pulls for clients, I recognized that many of them over-50 also were struggling. 

The only way to navigate this supposed shift in the mindset about ambition is by embracing the raw reality of who we are now. That could be an old-line super striver. But I doubt that's me currently. I no longer have the 35-year-old's blind fate in achievement. Of course, I would prefer to keep that secret from clients. But there are no secrets, are there. That's why we better get down cold self-awareness.

Your career issues in 2022.  Complimentary consultation for coaching, job-search materials, and interviewing. Yes, Tarot readings are avialable, including one-card pulls. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579. Website: https://janegenovaintuitivecareercoaching.blogspot.com/