Between Ambition and Contentment

The Weary Heart #13

I am grateful.

I truly am.

For the work I get to do.

For the people who walk beside me.

For the roof over my head and the food on my table.

For my family that’s by my side.

And for the prayers I still get to pray at night.

But still… what if I want more?

I want to grow. To create. To experience new things. To build something bigger and lasting.

And so if this is something you can relate with, then this is where the heart begins to ache.

Because between ambition and contentment, there is tension.

There is this quiet struggle that few talk about. One that lives in the minds of professionals, seekers, creatives, believers.

The struggle of wanting to honour what you have, but still aching for what you don’t. The dilemma of raising your hands in gratitude to Allah, while your heart reaches forward for more.

Is that ungrateful?

Is that greed?

Or is that just growth and honest ambition?

The Unnamed Conflict

This conflict is rarely addressed in religious spaces. We are taught to practise qana’ah, to be contented.

To say Alhamdulillah sincerely. To lower our gaze from the glitter of the world. But at the same time, while trying to remain moderate and controlled, the world around us is not whispering, it is shouting.

• "Build your brand."

• "Level up."

• "Don’t settle."

• "You’re not doing enough."

• “You deserve that position.”

So, we’re caught in the middle.

With one hand on the prayer mat, and the other on a spreadsheet.

One eye on Jannah, and the other on the next promotion.

And we feel guilty for wanting both. Is it wrong?

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Why It Hurts

This tension hurts more because nobody wants to admit it.

You sit at a gathering, and someone shares how their business just hit 7 figures.

Everyone claps. You smile. But you wonder if you’ve wasted your time being too cautious.

Or someone announces their third overseas posting, while you’ve just finally found some stability.

And that little voice returns… Am I not aiming high enough?

You scroll past someone’s viral post about quitting their job and “finally living their dream,” and suddenly your life feels too quiet, too safe, too small.

But you also know the other side.

You’ve met the people who chased endlessly. The ones who built empires but lost their peace. The ones who grew their influence but shrunk their soul. The ones who got everything they wanted and still went to bed feeling empty.

So here you are, stuck between not wanting to be greedy, and not wanting to waste your potential. It’s confusing, isn’t it? But it’s real. And it deserves a deeper conversation.

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What the Faithful Ambitious Forget

Islam doesn’t ask us to be passive.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was ambitious in the purest sense.

He built nations. Led armies. Negotiated treaties.

Established systems, created wealth distribution models, managed state affairs.

He was never idle.

But his ambition was rooted in Akhirah, not ego.

He pursued growth, not for self-glorification, but for the Ummah, for justice, for service.

His heart wasn’t filled with the desire to conquer the world. It was filled with the desire to please the One who created it. So no, Islam never demanded we dim our light. It simply asked that we redirect it.

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Contentment is Not Complacency

Here’s what many get wrong.

Contentment doesn’t mean settling. It doesn’t mean giving up on dreams. It doesn’t mean saying “this is enough” when deep inside, you know it isn’t.

True contentment is the absence of desperation.

It’s the refusal to sell your soul in the name of success. It’s knowing that your worth isn’t tied to your title, or your timeline. It’s being at peace with what Allah has written, while still working hard for what He hasn’t written yet.

Because the verse doesn't say,

“If you are content, I will increase you.”

It says:

"If you are grateful, I will surely increase you."

(Surah Ibrahim, 14:7)

Which means: you can be thankful and still get more.

The two are not enemies.

So when I feel this conflict rising, I pause and ask myself three things:

1. Is this from the soul or the self?

• Is this ambition born from a desire to contribute, or a need to be recognised?

• Do I want this because it will serve others, or because I feel behind?

2. Would I still want this if no one ever knew I got it?

• If the success was invisible, would it still matter?

• Or is the dream only sweet because I want others to see me taste it?

3. Will this bring me closer to Allah or only further from rest?

• Does this expansion increase my khushu’, or only my cortisol?

• Does it open my heart or does it close the door to sincerity?

Sometimes, all it takes is an honest pause to find the real answer.

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What Barakah Looks Like

We often confuse growth with barakah.

But barakah is not about numbers.

It is about depth. About impact. About ease.

You can work two hours a day and feel fulfilled. Or work twelve and still feel like nothing is moving. You can earn half the income of someone else, and yet have more joy, more clarity, more sleep, and more peace.

That is barakah.

It is invisible to the world but unmistakable to your soul.

Ambition with barakah doesn’t destroy your health. It doesn’t rob you of your family. It doesn’t turn your tongue bitter from exhaustion. It builds slowly. Sustainably. Sincerely.

So pursue more, but pursue it in a way that our Creator would be proud of.

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Growth That Pleases God

There is a type of growth that leads to arrogance.

And there is a type of growth that leads to awe.

One makes you feel like you don’t need Allah anymore.

The other makes you realise how deeply you always did.

The best kind of ambition is the one that increases your sujood. The one that softens your heart. The one that humbles you in front of your Lord, even as the world praises you.

You can grow and still be grounded. You can rise and still be rooted. You don’t have to pick between excellence and sincerity. You can pursue both.

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Practising Ambitious Gratitude

Here are a few habits that help me stay in that middle space:

1. Start every planning session with shukr.

List five things you’re grateful for before you write your goals.

Anchor in presence before pursuing progress.

2. Make dua for purpose, not just results.

Ask Allah to make you useful. To make your work beneficial. To make your efforts beloved to Him.

3. Create sacred pauses in your week.

An hour with no devices. Just you, your thoughts, and your Lord.

That’s where clarity lives.

4. Don’t compare ambition, instead, compare impact.

Who did you help today? Who did you show kindness to?

Sometimes, the smallest act is worth more than the loudest launch.

5. Give before you grow.

If you’re chasing more, start by giving more.

Barakah is often unlocked through generosity.

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The Final Whisper

Some nights I still wonder…

Am I doing enough? Should I be further along by now? Is this it? Is this all there is?

And the answer that always returns is this:

You were never meant to race blindly towards more.

You were meant to walk purposefully towards Him.

Ambition isn’t wrong.

But it must have an anchor.

Otherwise, it becomes a storm.

So be contented not because you lack vision, but because you trust the timing. And be ambitious not because you’re empty, but because you want to fill others with goodness too.

There is beauty in that balance. And barakah in that tension.

And there is peace in knowing you can reach for more without ever letting go of what you already have.

With you, in pursuit and in peace,

Mizi