Thank you for this piece. I’m a recovering workaholic and recent graduate of a 4-month Buddhist retreat, and this is the part I’ve had the hardest time grappling with.

The question that keeps appearing in my mind is, “What is the difference between ambition and discontent?”

I’m accustomed to ambition, as I was raised on it, plus I’ve been fairly successful at achieving things. But when I look at the way I implement it, it seems remarkably similar to discontentment.

It does seem to be possible to achieve things without being in a state of discontentment — many Buddhist masters have done as much — but I’m still figuring out what the mindset looks like for me personally.

I am someone who naturally has a *lot* of energy, so it can be useful for me and those around me when I find an outlet for that energy. But when I begin to suspect that my outlet is not the optimal use of my time and energy, my discontentment grows, my desire for productivity nags at me. I start to begrudge those who limit my productivity.

My cats are the best thing to kick me out of productivity binges — and one of them wants a pet now. Thank you for this piece, and for helping me to think through this further.