To clear up a common misconception I've encountered: our ambition study isn't about *effort*. It's about which opportunities you stick with or pass up in search of better ones. Don't pass up good opportunities in search of perfect ones. We say nothing about how hard you should or shouldn't work.
Matt Burgess
Shoot for the moon? Or don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good? Our new paper, led by @kathlandgren.bsky.social, formalizes how to think about this tension.
tl;dr: optimal ambition is above average but finite.
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Model created by researchers shows better outcomes are often more likely when people are not too ambitious
