As a human being, I have some ability to change consciously to a different order.
But actually, we set our hearts on a certain place and don’t want to get any higher.
There is an old Russian story about a simple soldier who rescued the Czar from some danger.
The Czar told him he could ask for whatever he wanted, and the soldier said, “Please, change my commanding officer!”
Instead of moving upward in the hierarchy, I just want to shift into a more comfortable position on the same level.”
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz