Stoic Ambition
Reconciling Drive and Worldly Success with the Philosophical Life
Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do. Self-indulgence means tying it to the things that happen to you. Sanity means tying it to your own actions — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Paradox
Stoicism is ultimately a philosophy of self-improvement. Through rigorous self-examination, discipline, and acceptance, we’re able to live life with a greater sense of purpose and tranquility. We’re able to accept that most of the things in our lives are outside of our control and that the true source of good and evil rests solely in our will and actions. If we accept that all we need are our reasoned choices to achieve tranquility and to live and die well, what purpose does the Stoic have for ambition? Can the Stoic still strive for worldly ambitions such as wealth, glory, and impact?
Fortunately, the very Stoic disciplines that allow us to live without ambition also allow us to strive for it if we so wish. We can leverage Stoicism to hold fast against temptations, clarify our intentions, and achieve our ambitions virtuously.
“You will earn the respect of all if you begin by earning the respect of yourself. Don’t expect to encourage good deeds in people conscious of your own misdeeds.” — Gaius Musonius Rufus, Lectures
Stoic Disclaimer
Worldly ambition often has an implicit assumption that the person will be happy once they’ve achieved their goal. That once they’ve achieved prestige, riches, or fame, their problems will fade away, and that they’ll finally rest easy. The Stoics believed that the only secure and sustainable happiness stems from virtuous thoughts and actions. There are enough examples of sad kings and billionaires to lend credence to the argument that riches and power aren’t guarantees of happiness. We don’t need these things to be happy and die well.
The Stoics believed that good and evil are solely found in one’s will and actions. Epictetus referred to these sources of virtue as “internals,” whereas fame, social acceptance, riches, and everything else in life he classified as “externals.” Wealth and fame are externals and thus not the source of good and evil. When observed through this lens, common worldly ambitions such as “Keeping up with the Joneses” and achieving stardom are a precarious way to live.
Ambitions such as to be liked by others, have power over them, or be rich, are risky since these are externals that are outside of our realm of control. While some externals, such as being liked, can be partly influenced by being likable, you can’t guarantee such a result. Even if achieved, these externals are pale compared to individual virtues such as courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom. It’s better to instead align your desires with what’s in your control that may influence the desired external as a byproduct. You should have your own house in order before seeking happiness in externals. Whatever your worldly ambition is, you don’t need it to be happy.
“Just that you do the right thing. The rest does not matter. Tired or well-rested. Despised or honored.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.2
Do you Have the Right Motives?
Before you begin striving for some goal, examine your motives. What are you intending to achieve by accomplishing your goal? Is it towards a virtuous end, such as improving yourself or helping others? If so, then your cause is just, and you should give it your best effort.
If the motivation is less lofty, such as wanting to be respected by others or cover up a personal insecurity — examine whether this will truly bring you happiness. Your success will likely bring its own set of problems. Life won’t become easy once you’ve achieved your aim. The Stoics continually emphasize that the only source of tranquility is in our thoughts and actions. Stoicism would caution you against going down this path and instead turn your efforts inwards.
In his discourses, Epictetus gives the example of a courtier who’s striven to enter the emperor’s inner circle. Upon questioning, the courtier admits that his life is not better after achieving his ambition. The courtier’s stress around gaining power was merely replaced by the terrorizing prospect of losing it.
For example, say you desire to be financially wealthy. The key concern in such a case would be to examine your motivation and how you plan to attain wealth. Is your motivation to provide financially for your family, earning to give, etc.? If so, the goal is worthy. If the means are sound, such as learning a rare and valuable skill or working on an important problem, you can confidently go forward. If instead, you think you will finally be happy and be respected when you’re wealthy, or you will achieve wealth through unvirtuous means, then the Stoics would believe you’re wasting your time.
“I do not forbid you to possess wealth; I only seek to make you fearless in possessing it. And the only way to achieve that is if you convince yourself that you will be happy even without it — if you look at it as something that might disappear at any moment.” — Seneca, Moral Letters 18
You Can’t Be Afraid
Does the dichotomy of control mean that the Stoic should never strive for wealth, social acceptance, and other such pursuits for things outside of our control? Is the true Stoic a disengaged monk?
Stoicism allows that some externals are preferable to have than not to have. For example, it’s better to be loved than to be despised as well as wealthy compared to poverty. Indeed, many of the notable Roman Stoics lived in immense privilege and did not find wealth in itself a bad thing.
The pursuit of preferred indifferences comes with a critical distinction inferred by its name. These things are preferable — not essential. The Stoic does not find these things necessary to live a good life. Virtue and wisdom can come at the expense of preferred indifferences if necessary. Many Stoics such as Musionious Rufus lived in extreme privilege and strove for high office yet accepted exile, poverty, ostracization, and death instead of renouncing their philosophy.
“Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will be serene.” — Epictetus, Discourses
Expect Temptations
Failure is one of the greatest tests life gives us. We often relapse into bad habits and make foolish decisions when coming to grips with defeat. This peril should be considered whenever striving for a worldly aim. The Stoics have this concept of “Premeditatio Malorum,” meaning to contemplate and expect the worst-case scenario of any action. Striving for worldly ambitions can involve clinging to externals over which we have marginal control and will likely go against us despite our best efforts.
Will you risk falling off your path of self-improvement and stray from philosophy if you fail? You must ask yourself how you will respond to the adversity and failures that you’ll likely encounter on your journey. Recognizing that the worst-case outcome is possible and planning for it will help you continue on your path even if your worldly aims don’t work out. If you believe that you’ll stray from philosophy if you fail, it is best to strengthen yourself first before pursuing such ambitions.
Don’t meditate solely on failure since success can bring its own perils. The trappings of success, the approval of others, and an inflated ego can also distract us from our real work — achieving tranquility through virtue. It can be tempting to stop the unpleasant task of working on shortcomings and faults when society tells us that we’re successful. Our success can make us think we’re superior to others and know everything. This vice can be an existential risk to our long-term tranquility.
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing.” — Seneca, Morale Letters
Go Forth
People have long chafed under society’s defaults that wealth and status are the determinants of success. Little has changed in this regard since antiquity. Then as now, individuals have sought refuge in philosophy to clarify what is important to them and what they want to do with their lives. There are numerous Stoic texts that push back against these defaults and advocate against ambition in favor of philosophical pursuits.
Upon closer inspection, the lives and teachings of the Stoics demonstrate that the takeaway from these warnings is not that one must completely disregard ambition. Instead, one must rise above the need for worldly aims to live tranquilly.
It is possible to reconcile Stoicism and worldly ambitions if your motives are good, your means are ethical, and you sincerely accept that the only trustworthy source of satisfaction is living virtuously.
Sources
- Seneca, Moral Letters -Margaret Graver and A.A. Long Translation
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations — Gregory Hayes Translation
- Epictetus Discourses and Selected Writing — Robert Dobbin Translation
- The Daily Stoic — Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
