Is simple living holding me back?

Hi all. First off I have really enjoyed observing this community for the last couple of years, I can relate to much of the general ethos and think the aspirations of the group are truly commendable.

As the title states, are my views around work/money/frugality holding me back? I (M32), have always been fairly responsible with money, and am naturally drawn towards ways I can simplify my life, remove expenditure that I don't get much value from and learn to find joy in the little things. It's my view that this gives me flexibility in life. As I get older I get satisfaction out of fine tuning my way of living and listening to my gut more often!

I worked hard in school and took a vocation (architect) that I thought I would enjoy and suited my skill set. I have been in the job for 5 or 6 years and enjoy some aspects of it, but find that I am just not spending enough of my time on those parts I enjoy, the creative and design aspect. Large parts of the job are onerous, admin-heavy and not particularly interesting for me. To top it off we are not very well paid (£40,000) when considering the time in school (5 years full-time and 1 year part-time). I have worked at multiple practices and find that they have the above in common. My current practice does work that I feel closely aligns with my values, our clients don't have the biggest budgets so we work hard to do more with less.

I am determined to find a job/career that I am excited by and gives me more fulfilment (thinking furniture design/joinery design/woodworking. Life is busy right now with work and house renovation but I am starting to put a plan in place for a career change.

I spoke to my Dad today as he could sense I have been a little down recently. The summary of his view is that I might be a) making more money as an architect or b) found a job/career that I like more, if I was more driven by earning more and/or spending more. My Dads a boomer and he came from nothing to build a successful small business. He mentioned that 'things changed for him when he set the bar higher for himself'. My Dads a good guy, a family man and I have a huge amount of respect for him.

What he's certainly not saying is 'you should want a FERRARI or a BIGGER house and then you might be in that ideal job you want!'. He's not an extravagant guy himself. But is he on to something? Would I be 'hungrier' in life if I set the bar higher for myself and wasn't as focussed on managing with less when I could be focussing on gaining more?

What do you think?