Are You Chasing the Wrong Thing?

There is a story I return to often.

It is called The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman.

An American businessman is on holiday in a small coastal village. He meets a fisherman returning with a few beautiful fish.

“How long did it take you to catch them?” the businessman asks.

“Not very long,” the fisherman replies.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more?” the businessman presses.

The fisherman explains he has enough. Enough for his family. Enough for today.

So the businessman outlines a grand plan.

Fish longer. Buy more boats. Build a fleet. Create a company. Scale. Expand. Sell the business for millions.

“And then?” asks the fisherman.

“Then you can retire,” the businessman says. “Move to a small village. Sleep late. Fish a little. Spend time with your children. Take siestas with your wife. Play guitar with friends.”

The fisherman smiles.

“That is exactly how I am already living.”

The Subtle Trap of Unexamined Ambition

This story always lands deeply for me (thanks Chris Williamson for introducing me to it).

Not because ambition is wrong.

But because so many ambitious professionals are chasing a version of success that is not actually theirs.

I have been there.

We tell ourselves:

When I get the promotion. When I feel more confident. When I’ve proven myself. When I’ve earned it.

Then it will all be worth it.

But what if the thing you are chasing is not actually the thing you want?

What if what you truly crave is not status, but freedom? Not more money, but more fulfilment? Not a bigger title, but deeper alignment?

Ambition is powerful.

But unexamined ambition can quietly pull you further away from yourself.

Success According to Whom?

In corporate environments, growth is often linear. Bigger role. Bigger scope. Bigger salary. More visibility.

But growth without reflection can become default programming.

We absorb cultural narratives about success. We internalise what achievement should look like. We measure ourselves against external markers.

And slowly, almost imperceptibly, we detach from our own definition of enough.

The question is not whether you are ambitious.

The question is: Whose ambition are you living?

Refining Ambition, Not Shrinking It

This is not an invitation to think smaller.

It is an invitation to think more consciously.

To ask these three questions:

What life am I building and why?

If I reached the next milestone tomorrow, how would I feel?

If I reached the end of my life and looked back, would I be proud of what I've created?

True growth is not linear.

It is about intentional expansion.

There is a difference between:

Growing because you are inspired and growing because you are trying to prove something or fill a void.

The former expands you. The latter exhausts you.

A Reflection for You

Growth is powerful.

But growth without intention can quietly postpone the life you actually want.

So here is the reflection:

Are you chasing the right thing? Or are you building toward a future that promises the very life you could start living now?

If you’re rethinking what success really means for you, I share deeper reflections, practical frameworks, and free masterclasses with my private community of conscious, growth-driven women. You can join here.