The Cost of Ambition: How Much Peace Are We Trading for Progress?
A 60-minute session on what we give up to get ahead: evenings, sleep, family moments, the city we grew up in, and sometimes the very peace we were working for. Is ambition what builds a good life, or what keeps us from living it? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
Double the salary for double the hours, for the next five years: is your gut a yes or a no?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Working Late To Get Ahead
Your boss is still online at 10 pm. So is everyone else on the team. You want to log off and have dinner with your family.
- 2
Being Called Unambitious
You like your job. You leave at six, cook dinner, and sleep well. Then a relative asks, “So what's next? Don't you want more?”
- 3
Comparing With Your Batchmates
A college friend posts about a new job abroad. Another buys a flat. You're happy for them. You also feel slightly sick.
- 4
Living Your Parents' Dream
Your parents gave up a lot so you could study. They hoped you'd become an engineer, a doctor, or settle abroad. Maybe you did. Maybe you didn't.
- 5
Moving Abroad For A Better Life
You got the job in Canada. Better pay, cleaner air, a real future. Your parents are proud. They're also alone in a big flat back home.
- 6
Missing Family Moments For Work
Your cousin's wedding is on Saturday. So is the client deadline. Your mother says, “Work will always be there.” Your boss says, “This one is big.”
- 7
Feeling Guilty When Resting
It's Sunday. Nothing is due. You lie on the sofa and watch a show. Within ten minutes, a little voice says you should be doing something useful.
- 8
Quitting For A Simpler Life
Everyone knows someone who did it. Left the big city job. Moved to the hills, opened a café, posts sunsets now.
- 9
Whose Career Comes First
You both have good jobs. Then one of you gets a big offer in another city. Someone has to move, or slow down, or say no.
- 10
Always Chasing The Next Goal
When you got the job, you said you'd relax. Then it was after the promotion. Then after the flat. Then after the school fees are sorted.
- 11
Safe Job Or Big Risk
One option: a steady government job, fixed hours, a pension, no surprises. The other: a startup with big money, big stress and no promises.
- 12
Why Struggle Is Worth It
The case for losing some sleep while you're young.
The line to leave with
What are you paying for your ambition right now, and did you ever actually agree to the price?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.