Be Inspired to: Be Ambitious

Written by: Jeff Sullivan
Published 10/19/22

Be Inspired to: Be Ambitious

Hi, my name is Jeff Sullivan. I’m a senior at Umass Amherst studying Communications,

Spanish, and Business. I’ve been friends with Asa Floyd for a long time. I’m thankful he invited me to come write for the Inspire Others Organization. I write a newsletter called ‘Three Pointers’ which you can find on jeffsullivan.substack.com.

Inspiration is the most powerful force in the world.

But it’s useless unless acted on. It’s often not acted on because of a lack of ambition.

Much of the anxiety people suffer from is the result of having no direction in life, being aimless.

One of my favorite quotes is from psychologist Jordan Peterson who said “Imagine who you could be, then aim single-mindedly at that.” By aiming, you develop a sense of purpose for what you do. Your actions take on meaning. The feeling that what you’re doing is worthwhile is a fundamental aspect of wellbeing. Most importantly, when you have an aim, you always have something to look forward to every day.

There’s a saying that ‘if you don’t know to which port you're sailing, no wind is favorable.’ And it’s true. When Covid first hit and we got sent home from college, I was aimless. I would sit around all day, smoke weed, and play video games. I was miserable. The only thing that kept me sane was working out.

So I started reading books and listening to podcasts obsessively. I focused on exploring how to improve health, wealth, and happiness. And a couple years later I’ve chosen an aim that I believe will improve all those areas: Writing.

My aim is to make a career out of it. This aim gives me a sense of meaning, because I believe what I write about in my newsletter will help myself and other people mentally, physically, and spiritually.

At the same time, I am channeling ambition, by believing I can become one of the biggest publications on Substack (give me a decade). The freedom I’ve found in this focus has improved my mental health drastically.

Everyone's aim in life will be different, and will likely change and evolve over time. The point is to have one. Imagine who you could be. And go for it. Far too often people self-impose limits on themselves. Don’t.

Be inspired to be ambitious, and commit to doing the actions every day that will get you closer to your dream. This idea what has helped me out mentally more than anything in my life, maybe it can for you too.