Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

Ambition: Fuel vs Self-Sabotage

• Several distinguish “ambition as action” vs “ambition as identity signaling.”
• “Too ambitious” is framed as: ambitions that harm doing, become a substitute for action, or are tied to craving honor rather than outcomes.
• Contrast between people who quietly climb smaller “mountains” to prepare vs those who refuse anything but Everest and then stall.

Taste–Skill Gap and Creative Frustration

• Many resonate with the “taste-skill discrepancy”: taste improves faster than ability, creating shame and paralysis.
• Over-researching and “developing taste” can turn people into critics instead of creators.
• Quantity-beats-quality anecdotes (e.g., photography, Federer statistics) support the idea of learning through many imperfect attempts—but several note these examples are low-cost domains.

AI, Tools, and Depth of Skill

• One line of discussion: AI raises output “skill” (speed, baseline quality) without improving underlying craft or taste.
• Some fear AI shortcuts prevent real learning, especially in programming, design, or art.
• Others argue detractors often haven’t seriously used AI and that fears are partly about economic obsolescence; this claim is challenged as stereotyping and logically weak.
• Legal/authorship worries (licensing, plagiarism, responsibility for code) also deter use.

Perfectionism, Procrastination, and “Eternal Child”

• Many see themselves in the pattern: gifted as kids, now stuck chasing impossible standards and avoiding “ordinary” work.
• Described as a “puer aeternus” pattern: preserving infinite potential by never committing, fearing being merely average.
• Suggested remedies: notice the mental “callback” that avoids boring finite choices; retrain it through small, repeated commitments.

Planning, Strategy, and Chores

• Over-strategizing can turn exciting ideas into dead chores; planning itself becomes a dopamine hit and a way to avoid execution.
• Some criticize cultural over-valuation of “grand strategy” versus the unglamorous consistency, maintenance, and grunt work that actually ship things.

Curiosity, Scope, and Cost

• One commenter calls “unconstrained curiosity” a vice; others strongly defend it as the root of scientific and creative breakthroughs.
• Scope creep and constant bar-raising are seen as common self-sabotage patterns.
• Several stress context: “just do it” is powerful for cheap, repeatable work, but high-cost, low-frequency bets (startups, megaprojects) genuinely need more upfront planning.

Upbringing, Ego, and Standards

• Discussion of parenting patterns: praising innate brilliance vs effort or self-evaluation can feed fragile ambition and fear of mediocrity.
• Some suggest deliberately doing things you’re bad at, or building for your own needs, to reduce pressure and reconnect with process over perfection.