By agency, do you mean anyone who has the inclination to “think through plans”/”decide how to pursue goals”, or only those who do these things correctly and consequently actually achieve something tangible? I’m asking because there’s a world of difference between “how do people gain the inclination to behave ‘agenty’” and “how do people actually achieve things”.
If someone has ambitious goals, but they don’t yet have “plans which they realistically expect to achieve”, because the planning part is really really hard (but they definitely view themselves as “this [big goal] is what I want from life” and they’re emotionally committed to it), does that fall under what you mean by ambition? Or is the “plans” part necessary? Again, big difference between having grand visions for yourself and having a concrete set of steps to achieve them.
Do you mean to imply that there is a relationship/correlation between agency and ambition? I.e., someone who has larger plans/goals is more likely to be self-motivating/decisive/etc. and vice versa?
Looking at the (unfinished) answer, it seems to me like most of the things listed there are useful for getting from the “emotionally committed to a big goal, but no specific plans and completed steps yet” stage to the “actually achieved something awesome” stage.
I mean, conscientiousness feels like an obvious answer to actually doing things; IQ is useful for choosing the right way; extraversion implies networking and cooperation; parents’ status implies expectations for yourself; and neuroticism can slow you down or stop you. So I am curious whether these all will be found true.
(However, just in case they might turn out to be false, let this be the record that I have predicted that, too: obviously, extraverted people will be easier distracted from their goals, and conscientious people may be too busy doing what they were told instead of dreaming about achieving more. On the other hand, neurotics will never stop because they will never feel secure enough with what they have already achieved. Too high IQ makes one incompatible with the rest of the society, thus less likely to find cooperators, and more likely to achieve things the society doesn’t care about. High-status people are likely to provide better environment for their children, which in turn feel less pressure to change things.)
Anyway, I’d like to know more about how to get from “living a life of meh” to “being emotionally committed to a big goal”. I wonder if there will be a research-supported answer to this. (Maybe the relevant things are harder to quantify?) I have a few pet theories, but I could also argue against any of them. (For example, having experienced different levels of wealth or social status in the past could make one feel that these things are changeable. Or it could make them feel that these things are beyond their control. Fictional evidence, such as science fiction or Kiyosaki might ignite one’s ambition… or daydreaming.)
Clarifying questions:
By agency, do you mean anyone who has the inclination to “think through plans”/”decide how to pursue goals”, or only those who do these things correctly and consequently actually achieve something tangible? I’m asking because there’s a world of difference between “how do people gain the inclination to behave ‘agenty’” and “how do people actually achieve things”.
If someone has ambitious goals, but they don’t yet have “plans which they realistically expect to achieve”, because the planning part is really really hard (but they definitely view themselves as “this [big goal] is what I want from life” and they’re emotionally committed to it), does that fall under what you mean by ambition? Or is the “plans” part necessary? Again, big difference between having grand visions for yourself and having a concrete set of steps to achieve them.
Do you mean to imply that there is a relationship/correlation between agency and ambition? I.e., someone who has larger plans/goals is more likely to be self-motivating/decisive/etc. and vice versa?
Looking at the (unfinished) answer, it seems to me like most of the things listed there are useful for getting from the “emotionally committed to a big goal, but no specific plans and completed steps yet” stage to the “actually achieved something awesome” stage.
I mean, conscientiousness feels like an obvious answer to actually doing things; IQ is useful for choosing the right way; extraversion implies networking and cooperation; parents’ status implies expectations for yourself; and neuroticism can slow you down or stop you. So I am curious whether these all will be found true.
(However, just in case they might turn out to be false, let this be the record that I have predicted that, too: obviously, extraverted people will be easier distracted from their goals, and conscientious people may be too busy doing what they were told instead of dreaming about achieving more. On the other hand, neurotics will never stop because they will never feel secure enough with what they have already achieved. Too high IQ makes one incompatible with the rest of the society, thus less likely to find cooperators, and more likely to achieve things the society doesn’t care about. High-status people are likely to provide better environment for their children, which in turn feel less pressure to change things.)
Anyway, I’d like to know more about how to get from “living a life of meh” to “being emotionally committed to a big goal”. I wonder if there will be a research-supported answer to this. (Maybe the relevant things are harder to quantify?) I have a few pet theories, but I could also argue against any of them. (For example, having experienced different levels of wealth or social status in the past could make one feel that these things are changeable. Or it could make them feel that these things are beyond their control. Fictional evidence, such as science fiction or Kiyosaki might ignite one’s ambition… or daydreaming.)