The Cost of Ambition

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Miroslav Volf is the founder & director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. Join us for a discussion of his most recent book, The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse.

Learn more at the Virtues & Vocations website.

In a conversation hosted by Suzanne Shanahan at Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns, with support from the Kern Family Foundation, Yale Professor Miroslav Volf addressed a fundamental crisis in modern life: the confusion of “excellence” with “superiority.” As the global landscape becomes increasingly competitive, dismantling the “striving for superiority” is a strategic necessity for maintaining mental health and moral purpose.

The Problem of Superiority

Volf argues that a “betrayal of humanity” occurs when we shift from the pursuit of excellence to the striving for superiority. While excellence is defined by a goal independent of others’ performance, superiority is purely comparative. When being “better than” becomes our dominant value, it occludes all other virtues. Volf admits this struggle is personal, noting he is more competitive than he would like to admit, which underscores that this drive is a deeply ingrained cultural phenomenon.

The “Friendly Competition” Model

Volf does not call for the end of competition but for its “sanctification.” He contrasts the “vicious” competition seen in the rivalry between soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo—where the goal is often to diminish the opponent—with the “friendly competition” of basketball legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In the latter model, competition acts as a stimulus for mastery and mutual joy. This “redeemed” competition allows individuals to rejoice in the success of others, seeing a friend’s achievement as a shared victory for the craft.

The Meritocracy Myth

The conversation highlighted a jarring disconnect regarding the origins of success. Shanahan noted that when she surveyed her own seminar students, they attributed a staggering 96% of their success to their own effort. Volf counters this “manifest destiny” logic, arguing that personal merit accounts for perhaps only 3% to 5% of one’s achievements, with the rest owed to circumstances, community, and chance. He views meritocracy as a blunt instrument used to justify inequality. This self-attribution leads to profound fragility; when success is seen as entirely self-made, failure becomes an existential threat, driving the rise in student anxiety.

The “Lily” Metaphor

To illustrate the destructive nature of comparison, Volf shared Søren Kierkegaard’s story of the lily and the bird. A contented lily, after hearing a bird’s tales of more magnificent flowers and the freedom of flight, becomes so diminished by comparison that it allows the bird to peck at its roots to move it. In trying to become “superior,” the lily dies. Volf posits that humans suffer a similar “injury of comparison,” where we shrivel and lose the ability to be ourselves in the pursuit of fleeting status.

By moving beyond these comparative injuries, we can begin to reconstruct a vision of work and education rooted in shared flourishing. The following direct insights from the speakers further illuminate the path toward this shift.

Differentiate Between Mastery and Rank: Professionals should evaluate whether their motivation stems from a pursuit of excellence (internal mastery) or a striving for superiority (external ranking). While excellence fosters growth, superiority creates a fragile ego dependent on the failure of others.
Acknowledge the Role of Contingency in Success: Moving away from the “96% self-attribution” model toward one that recognizes the role of chance and community can reduce professional anxiety. Acknowledging that personal merit is a small fraction of achievement fosters resilience in the face of setbacks.
Evaluate the Impact of Digital Metrics on Worth: Technology has exacerbated a quantitative obsession with popularity, turning “likes” into a proxy for human value. This environment is particularly damaging to young professionals, as it reinforces the idea that significance is purely a matter of social comparison.
Foster “Humble Institutions” and Authenticity: Elite research universities often structure incentives—such as the tenure process—so that individuals only feel permitted to be their “true selves” after all competitive hurdles are cleared. Humble institutions should seek to reverse this, fostering a collaborative culture where team members rejoice in each other’s successes from the start.
Practice the Discipline of Rejoicing in Others: Developing the capacity to celebrate a colleague’s success, even when it eclipses one’s own, is a primary defense against the “injury of comparison.” This practice transforms professional relationships from adversarial contests into mutual pursuits of the common good.

“When success is seen as entirely self-made, failure becomes an existential threat to the self.” — Miroslav Volf
“Competition needs to be redeemed… it’s possible to compete simply as a kind of friendship exercise.” — Miroslav Volf
“I find myself that meritocracy is a very blunt instrument… I would say what, 3%? 5% at the most [of success] is my contribution.” — Miroslav Volf
“The lily died in comparison… there’s a kind of injury that happens to us in comparison where we don’t stack as well as we hope.” — Miroslav Volf
“Friendship comes as a result of letting yourself rejoice over successes of another person even when your own successes pale in comparison.” — Miroslav Volf