Ambition becomes clearer when its costs have names instead of inspiring descriptions.

Costs described in stirring language stop feeling like costs. Words such as sacrifice or grind convert real losses into evidence of seriousness, which is exactly why they are so popular. Named plainly, the same items sound quite different: four evenings a week, no holidays for two years, a friendship that will probably fade. You can still choose all of it, but you ought to be able to say what you are paying.

Write the price of your current ambition as a list of ordinary items with numbers attached. Show it to someone it will affect and ask whether the total matches what they have been living.