Letting Go of Ambition and Embracing the Life God Has for Me

By Lauren Rose Correa, June 29, 2025

Letting Go of Ambition: Woman in suit on laptop

As someone who used to be very ambitious and is now very focused on their family, a huge part of growing in my walk with the Lord was letting go of ambition. There’s nothing wrong with having dreams, but I think it’s important to have the right perspective about them. It’s easy to center your life around the perfect job or that goal you want to reach, but life is about so much more. Here’s my story of how God slowly by surely changed my heart in this area.

Letting Go of Ambition: My Career Path

When I was younger, I was very ambitious. I always dreamed of starting my own business, but this was something that never quite came to fruition, mainly because I spent a lot of time unsure what path I wanted to take.

Still, I charged ahead in my career. I truly enjoyed my first marketing job. I was the only one in my department, so I wore a lot of hats. This was both exciting and challenging. I had the opportunity to build the marketing department from the ground up. I developed and optimized the website, created a blog and wrote all the blog posts, managed social media, led the development of a company video, and advertised on the radio.

I will always look back on this job with fondness, but there came a time when I grew out of the role and wanted to move back to New Jersey. My next Marketing job was closer to home. I enjoyed my time there, and it was a great company to work for. But there was a huge shift in me that affected how I viewed my job.

A Changed Perspective

I began dating my husband the summer before I began my second marketing job. We were married the following summer. When I got married, something changed: my job was no longer my everything. I began to view work as work, and I centered my life around my spouse.

This did not stop me from working my hardest at my job, or even from enjoying what I did. But I definitely didn’t see work the same way. I did what I needed to do during company hours and I forgot about work when it was over.

Something that truly solidified this change in me was becoming a mother. I originally had planned to keep working and put my daughter in daycare. This lasted two months before I put in my two weeks and became a stay-at-home mama. And I have not looked back.

I plan to return to work when my kids are in school. And when I do, I hope to find a job I enjoy and a place where I can grow. But something I’m realizing about myself is that I’m far less ambitious than I was when I was single. My life is centered around my family, and I don’t see that changing.

My Perspective on Blogging

This change in me has even extended to my hobby of blogging. When I was younger, I would throw myself into such projects, staying awake at night to finish tasks. I still love writing and blogging, but I’m much more moderate about my approach to it. I stop myself from working too long so I have energy for my husband and daughter. Even though my husband doesn’t mind me staying up after my daughter’s bedtime to work, I try to only do this when I really need to accomplish something. Most nights I choose to spend time with him.

I would love to turn my blog into a money-making endeavor, but I’m trusting the Lord with this. I work hard to learn new skills to help me succeed, but if I end up going back to work and using those skills on the job, I’m okay with that.

Learning What Really Matters

I guess my point, after sharing all this, is to say that there’s nothing wrong with ambition. It’s okay to be a mom and have a career. It’s okay to love what you do. It’s okay to be an entrepreneur. But it’s also okay to decide that work is work. To work hard and do your best within working hours and then focus on your family. It’s okay if your only ambition is to be a mom. You’re not missing something if that’s all that matters to you.

Ambition can be a very fickle thing to follow. Not everyone gets their dream job, not everyone succeeds at every endeavor. I’ve learned that providing for my family and holding down a steady job makes me successful. Being a stay-at-home mama makes me successful. I’ve stopped putting pressure on myself to do more than that, and quite honestly, it’s a relief. I don’t need to be super successful in some visible way. I just need to do my best at the life God puts in front of me, and feel deeply grateful for it and satisfied in it.