A Fuller Life
On ambition, curiosity, and the danger of becoming nothing more than your career.
One of my closest friends doesn’t watch movies, read novels, play video games, or take vacations. He feels like he’s wasting precious time that he could be using to build a business, become a stronger candidate, or improve his career in some way.
And on one level, I understand. A lot of people, especially ambitious people, are under enormous pressure right now. The job market feels unstable and career paths are blurrier and shifting constantly, so most advice is built around the idea that every part of your life should be somehow tied back to utility. If you are going to spend time on something, it has to improve your resume, sharpen your personal brand, expand your network, or help you advance your career.
I have felt this pressure too, and there have absolutely been moments when I caught myself wanting to justify every interest in the language of usefulness just so I wouldn’t feel guilty doing something I just enjoyed even if it couldn’t be added to my resume.
But I think by becoming so relentlessly focused on work and your career, you run the risk that even if you achieve your goals, they won’t matter to you anymore. If you aren’t fulfilled by your life, no amount of money, accolades, or praise from other people will change that.
Some of the most magnetic people I know are not interesting or successful because they optimized their life to spend every waking moment “improving” themselves. They are compelling because they have maintained a relationship with curiosity that has not been entirely hijacked by this pressure to always be developing. They still read things that will not help them, they listen to music and create art that they won’t monetize, and they still have tastes, preoccupations, and strange little intellectual trails they follow for no obvious reason other than that they feel pulled there.
And I think this matters in science especially. A study from 20081 actually proved this concept, with the following excerpt highlighting how Nobel laureates are far more likely to have creative and artistic hobbies compared to the average scientist:
“Nobel laureates are at least as likely (and as much as a factor of 8 more likely) to be photographers than the average scientist; at least a factor of 2 (and as much as 18) more likely to be a practicing musician, composer, or conductor; at least a factor of 7 more likely to be a visual artist, sculptor, or printmaker; at least a factor of 7.5 more likely to be a craftsperson engaged in woodwork, mechanics, electronics, glassblowing, and so on; at least a factor of 12 more likely to write poetry, short stories, plays, essays, novels, or popular books; and at least a factor of 22 more likely to be an amateur actor, dancer, magician, or other performer.”
There is so much pressure in science to become narrower and narrower until you can only justify your existence through specialization, output, and technical seriousness. And it feels like the only way to achieve that is to only partake in activities that will directly improve your research output and thinking.
But the reality is that the people who often have the strongest instincts, the most original voice, the clearest sense of direction, and the deepest understanding of other people are not machines, but human beings that have an entire life alongside their work.
This is not to say that ambition is bad, discipline is unnecessary, or that skill-building doesn’t matter. But there is a difference between building a serious life and reducing yourself to a career optimization project.
So many people have spent years trying to become the ideal candidate, founder, student, or worker, only to discover that they no longer know what they like when nobody is watching.
And I think that becoming a fuller person is not a distraction from building a meaningful life, but part of it.
If I were in your shoes...
If you are in a stage of life where you feel pressure to make everything useful, I wouldn’t tell you to stop being ambitious, but I would encourage you to be more protective of interests that aren’t in any way related to professional advancement.
Read a book you’ve been putting off, watch a movie with your favorite actor, listen to a new album, or go explore a new part of your city just because you want to.
You should continue to build skills, take your career seriously, and learn how to position yourself well. But do not become so committed to being employable that you forget how to become someone worth listening to, working with, or becoming.
In My Orbit
I wanted to end the newsletter with a part that feels a little looser and more personal. This isn’t for advice, analysis, or some disguised productivity takeaway. It’s just a small space for the things that have been around me lately and, in one way or another, have left a mark.
This week, that’s the song insecure by Lauv. It’s more stripped back and less produced than some of his usual work, but the lyrics are what I’ve always been drawn to in music. The way he talks about feeling lost, insecure, and not quite confident with who you are and where you’re going perfectly captures what I’ve gone through many times. It’s always special to see a stranger express something you couldn’t have said better yourself.
Root-Bernstein R, Allen L, Beach L, et al. Arts Foster Scientific Success: Avocations of Nobel, National Academy, Royal Society, and Sigma Xi Members. Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology. 2008; 1(2):51-63. doi:10.1891/1939-7054.1.2.51