--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to…" description: "\"“I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything. It's so much nicer to be damned sure I could do it better than other people - and I might not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg" --- # I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything… ![“I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything. It's so much nicer to be damned sure I could do it better than other people - and I might not could if I tried...” quote by Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg) > ““I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything. It's so much nicer to be damned sure I could do it better than other people - and I might not could if I tried...”” [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker fears ambition because it threatens comfort and certainty, preferring safe confidence over risk. **In simple terms:** Fear of ambition leads to safe choices. Key Takeaway Embrace risk over comfort. Themes fear comfort ambition risk confidence Mood anxious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - personal growth - relationship choices Key Concepts psychology self‑esteem social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What would you try if fear vanished? - How does safety limit growth? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind you to true potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Ambitious Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-try-1578969/) [Ll Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ll-ambitious-1578970/) [Nicer Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicer-damned-1578972/) [Try Nicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-nicer-1578971/) [Zelda-fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zelda-fitzgerald/) ## Related quotes > [... while I bathed, while I tried but failed to sleep, I considered how I might become more like the women I respected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-anne-fowler/while-i-bathed-while-i-tried-but-failed-to-sleep-i-considered-how-i/) [Therese Anne Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-anne-fowler/) > [I can't imagine everyone on the planet would want to hear something from me. If I thought they'd listen, I'd probably ask them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-kulash/i-can-t-imagine-everyone-on-the-planet-would-want-to-hear-something/) [Damian Kulash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-kulash/) > [I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-ll-try-being-nicer-if-you-ll-try-being-smarter/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“It was not, Zelda wrote, prosperity or the softness of life, or any instability that marred the war generation; it was a great emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/it-was-not-zelda-wrote-prosperity-or-the-softness-of-life-or-any/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [“Scott is gone. I've had two days with this truth. This truth and me, we're acquainted now, past the shock of our first unhappy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-anne-fowler/scott-is-gone-i-ve-had-two-days-with-this-truth-this-truth-and-me-we/) [Therese Anne Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-anne-fowler/) > [“Mr. Fitzgerald is a novelist and Mrs. Fitzgerald is a novelty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/mr-fitzgerald-is-a-novelist-and-mrs-fitzgerald-is-a-novelty/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“It's terrible to allow conventional habits to gain a hold on a whole household; to eat, sleep and live by clock ticks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/it-s-terrible-to-allow-conventional-habits-to-gain-a-hold-on-a-whole/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [“She did as she pleased, regarding life as 'an inexhaustible counter', from which she seemed to be continually picking out presents for herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mackrell/she-did-as-she-pleased-regarding-life-as-an-inexhaustible-counter/) [Judith Mackrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mackrell/) > [“Kiss me, lover. One darling kiss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/kiss-me-lover-one-darling-kiss/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [“Remembrance. Even more, confession. It did always made the heavy things come loose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-robuck/remembrance-even-more-confession-it-did-always-made-the-heavy-things/) [Erika Robuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-robuck/) > [“The past would haunt when the present let up, and always, always the future would loom with its certainty of tragedy and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-robuck/the-past-would-haunt-when-the-present-let-up-and-always-always-the/) [Erika Robuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-robuck/) > [“I married the heroine of my stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-married-the-heroine-of-my-stories/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Being close to him with her face in the space between his ear and his stiff army collar was like being initiated into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/being-close-to-him-with-her-face-in-the-space-between-his-ear-and-his/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [“This was Scott. This is Scott, always looking back to try to figure out how to go forward, where happiness and prosperity must surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-anne-fowler/this-was-scott-this-is-scott-always-looking-back-to-try-to-figure-out/) [Therese Anne Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-anne-fowler/) > [“In this couple defects were multiplied, as if by a dangerous doubling; weakness fed upon itself without a counterstrength and they were trapped, defaults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/in-this-couple-defects-were-multiplied-as-if-by-a-dangerous-doubling/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) ## More by Nancy Milford > [Life is impermanent and in the face of that impermanence, cavort! Look death in the eye, tell him you’re as cute as a button,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/life-is-impermanent-and-in-the-face-of-that-impermanence-cavort-look/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [“It was not, Zelda wrote, prosperity or the softness of life, or any instability that marred the war generation; it was a great emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/it-was-not-zelda-wrote-prosperity-or-the-softness-of-life-or-any/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [“I am wild, if you like; but I stayed in my burrow a long, long time, - nibbling your straws and snapping at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-am-wild-if-you-like-but-i-stayed-in-my-burrow-a-long-long-time/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [The hats were nearly all as though made by somebody who had once heard about flowers but never seen one huge muffs of horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/the-hats-were-nearly-all-as-though-made-by-somebody-who-had-once/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [Francis Scott Fitzgerald really read culture pretty damn clearly. It was he who understood that artistic achievement, really imaginative work, goes where the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/francis-scott-fitzgerald-really-read-culture-pretty-damn-clearly-it/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [I had never understood quite so clearly the effective power of Jane Jacob's writing - no, her clear-headed observation - as I did reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-had-never-understood-quite-so-clearly-the-effective-power-of-jane/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) > [To be a biographer is a somewhat peculiar endeavor. It seems to me it requires not only the tact, patience, and thoroughness of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/to-be-a-biographer-is-a-somewhat-peculiar-endeavor-it-seems-to-me-it/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) [Explore all 8 Nancy Milford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything. It's so much nicer to be damned sure I could do it better than other people - and I might not could if I tried...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Milford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-to-try-anything-it-s-so-much/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambitious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-to-try-anything-it-s-so-much/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nancy-milford-47753_ambitious_i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-t_2557789.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I hope I'll never get ambitious enough to try anything. It's so much nicer to be damned sure I could do it…” — Nancy Milford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nancy Milford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I hope I'll never get ambitious...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-to-try-anything-it-s-so-much/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/i-hope-i-ll-never-get-ambitious-enough-to-try-anything-it-s-so-much/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```