You’re Allowed to Want More: How to Keep Growing AND Be Grateful for What You Have
Gratitude and ambition aren’t opposites.
Sarah and Trainer Tanna unpack the guilt around wanting more, why high achievers confuse appreciation with complacency, and how to chase bigger goals without feeling empty. Plus a simple practice to honor how far you’ve come while still reaching for what’s next.
Can you love your life and still want more? Yes. Both. At the same time.
Sarah and Trainer Tanna dig into the tension between gratitude and ambition. Many of us treat them as opposites, as if wanting more means we’re ungrateful, or being grateful means we should stop reaching. This episode takes that apart.
They get honest about where they feel the push and pull in their own lives, including their hopes for growing this podcast while protecting their peace. They also look at why women in particular feel guilty for wanting more time, more strength, or a different life.
In this episode:
- Why “I should just be grateful” and “other people have it worse” shortchange you
- Two things can be true: “I love my life” and “I have dreams for what’s next”
- Where the guilt comes from, from “mom’s last” conditioning to the stigma around wanting more
- Why you’re not the same person you were a few years ago, and your goals can change too
- Striving from “not enough” vs. striving from gratitude, and how each sounds in your own head
- The “I’ll be happy when...” trap and the ever-moving finish line
- Why reaching new heights can feel empty when you never stop to take them in
- High achievers who think gratitude equals complacency, and the fear of losing momentum
- Working out as a gift vs. working out as punishment
- Wanting peace and wanting growth, and how you can have both
Key takeaways:
- Wanting more doesn’t mean something is wrong with your current life; it means you’ve changed.
- You can hold high standards for yourself without withholding appreciation for yourself.
- Gratitude protects you from spending your whole life waiting to arrive.
- Taking care of yourself models something powerful for the people watching you, including your kids.
- Moving your body because you hate it never works; moving it because you appreciate it does.
A question to sit with:
If you took away the guilt, the expectations, and the fear of being judged, what would you want more of?
A practice to try:
Think of something you have today that a younger version of you desperately wanted. Take a real moment to recognize it. Then name where you’d love to grow, and remind yourself that the two can coexist.
Quotable:
Striving with gratitude is where it’s at.