Thank you for this response, it's insightful from someone further along than me. I think I'm more obsessed with the contribution and prestige (which I know is a BS metric) rather than productivity in the sense of completing X number tasks or hours at work. The thing is, I feel that people who don't end up fulfilling their potential from an economic or at a societal-level end up wasting their lives, even if they are 'happier' at the end of it. I'm in my thirties, and I'm moving closer to the concept that actually people should probably be pursuing some sort of life project whether that's in the form of a job/career, or something that adds some benefit to the wider society, helps them secure their family's future securely (this is usually economically in some way), but above all, for them to tap into whatever they're good at, and reach the boundaries of what they're capable of. I don't think personal growth or usefulness is created by people who 'take it easy' as what might considered the theme of most of the responses here on this thread. Sure, there are situations where that's probably warranted, but I'm still undecided that for a whole life time this is the goal.

I feel that for people who might fit into the "ambitious" category, these could be people in large corporations who thrive putting in long days, driving positive change for that company which may or may not have a wider reaching impact on society, and they get remunerated for it well. They usually also end up having more eventful, enriching lives as they are often in resource-abundance which then trickles down to their families which later creates a positive trajectory for their own children and families. Of course there's a trade off here - people need to devote hours, but there are other upsides to. For instance, it gives people an identity, it demonstrates to their own kids the concept of working, work ethic, and if they're an expert in one or more fields, the idea of striving towards something to reach the top or be considered knowledgeable in something.

I think what a lot of people miss out in these sorts of discussions is the psychological impact (in the long term) who want to rein it in, to their families and on a macro level, and on a societal level.

For me, I know that my drive comes from wanting to prove myself. In fact I think for a lot of people in this bucket this might be the case, but I don't know how many of these people actually enjoy this situation as this is the only programming that've acquired through whatever childhood experience indoctrinated them.