The A word, S word and F word

That's right: Ambition, Strive and Future. What did you think I meant?

Why are these bad words? They don't have to be. Just like the ego isn't a bad thing, as long as I don't get stuck in it.

I am self-employed, a small business owner. The networking organizations talk about setting goals, long term planning, etc. So I spent some time recently doing some long term planning. It was actually a fun exercise of where do I see myself in 1 yr, 2 yrs, 5 yrs and so on. I did it because I knew what my vision was for the next year but hadn't thought much beyond that.

My thoughts during the planning included "what is the logical progression of my career", "how do I reach more people once my classes are full".

And then the next night I was doing an oracle reading and the question came up "What is your heart's true desire?" And I immediately realized it wasn't what I had projected in my planning. My true desire aligns with what I'm doing now and my vision I already had for about a year down the road. Everything beyond that was getting into a business so busy that it wasn't at all what I wanted. Everything beyond that was feeding my ego and a cultural drive to always be moving upward.

Striving isn't a bad thing, but what am I striving for? My true goal is happiness and I'm happy, so why would I need to get somewhere else?

Thich Nhat Hanh said it well: "The Heart Sutra says that there is 'nothing to attain.' We meditate not to attain enlightenment, because enlightenment is already in us. We don't have to search anywhere. We don't need a purpose or a goal. ... In aimlessness, we see that we do not lack anything, that we already are what we want to become, and our striving just comes to a halt."