What is ambition - Characteristics of an ambitious person

What is ambition

Ambition is a person’s desire to achieve his goals. This is how the word is defined today.

The original definition of ambition (ambitiousness) in the time of Peter I was a sense of honor or exorbitant ambition. Ambition was synonymous with vanity, narcissism, megalomania and arrogance. In Russia, a person with excessive ambitions was called arrogant and ridiculed. Ambition was also not valued in the USSR. It was impossible to stand out from the crowd. Attitudes, opinions, priorities and even appearance were the same.

Ambition has only become popular now. People with this character trait are willing to do anything to get what they want. They make the most of their abilities and talents on the way to achieving what they want. They say about such people that they are ready to “bite into the ground.” It should be noted that ambitions can be underestimated, overestimated and healthy.

The main desires of this type are to be the center of attention on a positive basis, to be held in high esteem and to be content with the respect of others. Such a person devotes his life to achieving both material and professional success, realizing his talents in various fields that correspond to his interests.

We often say about such people: “He will achieve a lot! He needs everything from this life! If a person does not aspire to this life, does not strive to achieve much, he is considered a person with low ambitions.

And the one who sets exorbitant goals for himself and is ready to “gnaw the earth” to achieve them is considered a person with exorbitant ambitions. Based on all this, we can give an easy and quickly memorable interpretation of an ambitious person. This is the status that a person strives for - it can be overestimated or underestimated.

Ambition is a person’s desire to achieve his goals and set new priorities.

Portrait of an ambitious person

What is ambition in simple words? Movement towards your goal. A person with healthy ambitions reaches their full potential. He never stops. Having solved one problem, he moves on. An ambitious person is confident in his abilities and ability to get what he needs. In some cases, he doesn't even know how exactly this will happen. Therefore, he relies on intuition and life experience.

Brief description of an ambitious personality

A person with high ambitions can be recognized by 3 signs:

1. Always engaged in self-development. Spends a lot of time attending or viewing online versions of trainings, seminars, and webinars on personal development. Realizes that progress does not stand still. And therefore he strives to update his knowledge in all areas, including the internal sphere.
2. Has high self-esteem and adequate self-esteem. An ambitious person exudes self-confidence. This manifests itself in a neat appearance, behavior, gait, and precision in actions. Such a person speaks about himself only in a positive way. They calmly reflect any negative invective addressed to them.
3. Success in building a career. This is not a question of talent and ability. It often happens that a more talented person does not receive a promotion. An ambitious person, on the contrary, knows exactly what he wants and is confident in his abilities and ultimate success.

Another trait of such individuals is optimism. Even in the face of setbacks and defeats, they do not give up on their dreams. Mistakes are experience for them. So when they stumble, they get up to continue on their way.

The influence of ambition on a person's life

The concept of ambition is subjective. For some, this is the maximum development of creative potential; for others, it is success in life and self-confidence. The right level of ambition and self-confidence helps you achieve success in your career and personal life. Too high a level of ambition hinders a person, disrupts the psyche and spoils relationships with others. Excessive self-confidence leads to the fact that a person does not cope with work or lets others down. If the level of ambition is correct, a person soberly assesses his abilities and skills and correlates them with his desires.

The benefits of adequate ambition:

• Strive for self-development, self-improvement;
• Motivate to achieve success;
• Help in achieving goals;
• They give strength to fight and overcome difficulties.

The harm of exaggerated ambitions:

• Frustration, irritability, resentment due to constant failures;
• Selfishness, disregard for the opinions of others, an attempt to make oneself valuable at the expense of others;
• Inability to take criticism;
• Inability to compare your actions with the actions of others, learn, develop and lead by example.

Professional and personal ambitions are a person’s internal motivation based on the need to achieve success. But their excess leads to desocialization, problems in personal life, friendship, and work.

Definition of the concept and classification

Nowadays, ambition is seen as a strong need to act, to go towards a goal, to success, to strive for prosperity. When wondering what ambition is, you need to understand that there is no single definition. However, they all have the same meaning - to get what you want in any available way.

An ambitious person is a person who has no doubts about achieving success; there is confidence that he will be able to easily cope with any task. Such a person does not know the words “impossible”, “I can’t”, “it won’t work out”. He confidently says that he is capable of achieving any goal. The only difference is how much effort he will need to achieve the result. There are also the following definitions of an ambitious person:

• an individual for whom his superiority is not so important as his ability to prove to everyone that he can achieve a lot;
• a person who sets goals and successfully achieves them;
• an individual who can make a certain amount of self-sacrifice in order to prove to everyone that he can achieve what he wants;
• a successful, strong-willed person who achieves a lot in life is an accomplished person.

People around them see arrogance and selfishness in the character of ambitious people. However, these qualities are more typical of individuals with high ambitions.

Some people admire the ambition of others, especially their desire to achieve their goals and overcome all obstacles. People try to be like them, develop ambitions, and strengthen them. However, there are also individuals who do not consider ambitious individuals to be normal people, do not strive to be such people, and are confident that they can achieve considerable heights if they perform their standard functions.

A person who has good ambitions is very energetic, sets goals for himself, and gives himself motivation for further development. Changes in the life of such a person occur quite often, because he is very active.

I bring to your attention examples of ambitions:

• a girl from a village comes to the metropolis in order to break out of her backwoods and achieve great heights;
• a guy who entered acting, strives to become a famous actor;
• a girl who has set herself the goal of seducing a rich guy does everything in order to get him.

Ambitions include:

• destructive and healthy;
• imperial and political;
• adequate and overestimated;
• careerist and champion.

There are big and small ambitions:

• major goals and plans - situations when a person sets very high standards for himself, for example, dreams of becoming the director of the company in which he currently works as a courier;
• small ones are mainly formed due to low self-esteem - a person does not see his merits and deliberately underestimates his status. For example, a situation where an individual is an excellent specialist, they want to give him a promotion, but he refuses, as he considers himself unworthy of the new position.

Every person has some level of ambition, some don’t show it at all, some have it too high. It all depends on the specific abilities and capabilities of the individual.

1. Low ambitions. Such individuals very rarely manage to achieve good results and be successful. As a rule, these are shy, modest, insecure people. They have practically no desire to achieve anything, to strive for something. Such a person will rejoice in what he has. Difficulties that arise along his way will be frustrating, and he will try to avoid them.
2. Adequate. Synonyms for such ambition are ambition and arrogance. Such a person strives for heights, however, sets goals that are quite achievable. This individual is able to adequately assess his capabilities. When such a person completes a given task, he does not stop there, sets new goals for himself, and tries to conquer them. Having healthy ambitions in a person contributes to self-improvement. These individuals are interesting conversationalists, it is pleasant to communicate with them, they are good listeners, listen to what others say, and do not impose themselves. A person with this level of ambition will prove to himself the validity of his image, but will not demonstrate himself by pointing out his own superiority.
3. Elevated. Such a person is overly self-confident, often exaggerates his capabilities, does not know how to adequately assess his own abilities, rarely completes assigned tasks, and often does not finish what he starts. When something doesn't work out, he blames others or external factors, but not himself. In the team, such people are not taken seriously; they are not assigned important tasks. Unhealthy self-esteem of these personalities pushes people away; it causes problems with communication and loneliness.

How are human ambitions realized?

The term “ambition” is interpreted differently in different countries. For example, since ancient times, modesty, calmness, self-control, respect, and selflessness have been revered in Russia. And if someone says that he is ambitious, he is treated negatively. Because this word is associated with pride, pride, arrogance. But in European culture, the word ambition is highly respected. They see in him the desire to achieve goals, make plans, and be successful.

It is worth understanding that the word “ambition” itself is not translated entirely positively. Translated from English, “ambition” means vanity, ambition, vanity. For this reason, in some European countries the attitude towards ambition is very ambiguous.

The fact is that ambitious people are often characterized by arrogance, ostentatious, vain and even deceitful nature. They are arrogant, self-obsessed, cynical and, one might say, go over their heads to satisfy their ambitions.

Negative attitudes towards an ambitious person are often due to the fact that others feel uncomfortable with his ambitions. For example, if a person wants to buy an expensive car, he will have to reduce his family income. Naturally, in such a situation such a person will be treated negatively.

The same thing happens to a woman who wants to climb the career ladder. She doesn’t want to have children, sits in the office for a long time and doesn’t think about what awaits her at home. And naturally, this state of affairs makes the career woman feel awkward about her ambitions.

It is important for every person that his ambitions are realized

Characteristic manifestations

If a person is ambitious, ambition will manifest itself in various areas of his life.

1. Career. In order for a person to have the opportunity to move up the career ladder, he needs integrity. For ambitious individuals, their financial situation and high social status are very important, which is what they strive for.
2. Professional activity. Even if a person in his professional activity does not have the opportunity to move up in his career, ambition will still be useful to him. After all, he will want to be a good specialist, will improve his skills, engage in self-development, deepen his interest in a certain area, and develop in it.
3. Marriage. Ambition is not a positive trait for family relationships. The problem is that ambitious individuals can overwhelm their partner with their countless aspirations. In order for the ambitions of one spouse not to interfere with the life of the other, it is necessary to learn to control them.
4. Children. Parents often make a mistake when they try to realize their ambitions in their children. And everything must be done to ensure that the child develops a desire to achieve goals that are interesting to him, to persistently pursue victory. Only in such a situation will he be able to grow up strong, self-sufficient and independent.

There are a number of advantages of ambition:

• the need to achieve great success;
• self-development;
• assistance in achieving the goal;
• motivation that allows you to overcome all the difficulties that arise along the way.

How to spot an ambitious person

Here the matter is simple. If a person has high or low ambitions, it is easy to see his qualities.

Women with ambitions are always not only wonderful wives, but also conscientious housewives. They always have everything clean, beautifully prepared breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. They never let their husband and children leave the house in unkempt, unwashed clothes. In addition, ladies with pretensions often visit sports clubs, body shaping classes, fitness clubs and spas. An ambitious woman is smart, reads a lot, and occupies a high position in the company.

Men also stand out for leading a healthy lifestyle, visiting bodybuilding clubs, playing sports, and dressing in everything fashionable. And, of course, these are the bosses who receive high salaries and have several expensive cars in the garage.

We understand that if a person has achieved something in this life and does not brag in vain, it means that he has normal, adequate desires, which he achieved through hard work and effort. In pursuit of success, such types do not lose their individuality; they constantly improve their skills and grow “outside themselves.”

Moreover, unlike those who have low ambitions, they never allow themselves to be humiliated and insulted, or treated without due respect, because during their success they were able to develop a sense of self-esteem. And constant self-development, the desire to learn new things and not waste time on trifles allows you to gain valuable knowledge and develop your career even faster.

That is why we have studied together with you what ambitions are, how to realize them and what types of ambitions exist. We hope that you were able to extract useful points from the article and with their help you can achieve success in your life. The most important thing is not to be afraid to act and give the impression of an ambitious person who has only the right claims for his own destiny on his mind.

Ambitious women are cold and unapproachable

They inexorably like to reinforce this, perhaps the most common stereotype about purposeful women, with the appropriate style: allegedly, career women do not get out of men's suits, like Clinton and Merkel, and their opposite - romantic slackers - flutter around the city in flowered dresses and smile at passers-by. Ambitious women are unapproachable exactly to the same extent that any person can be unapproachable because they feel uncomfortable, are not in the mood to relax right now, or are simply dissatisfied with the company.

How to communicate with an ambitious person

Sometimes among your friends there may be an ambitious person with whom it is quite difficult to get along. If you still want to keep in touch with him, you need to follow some tips that will help improve your relationship.

1. When you are with such a friend, do not talk about the successes of others.
2. Don't talk about your achievements, try not to mention them when an ambitious person is around.
3. Point out your friend's uniqueness, beauty, and genius.
4. If you know that a person has some kind of honor for his victories, ask him to show it.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ambition

Everyone needs ambition in reasonable quantities. Ultimately, it motivates you to take action. This is not their only advantage:

• desire to succeed;
• the need to keep fit;
• self-development;
• achieving all goals;
• not to be afraid of difficulties;
• have the right priorities.

Despite the many positive aspects, being ambitious also has its disadvantages. A person may not get what he wants, even if he works hard. In such cases, he has a number of unpleasant features:

• Selfishness;
• Arrogance;
• Irritability;
• ruthlessness;
• depravity;
• uncompromising;
• aggressiveness.

Such people tend to manipulate others, are constantly offended and have difficulty communicating.

Summarizing…

Believe in yourself, believe in your strength, be grateful for everything you have and strive for more. Look around you and help other people achieve their goals. Believe me, this will bring much more benefit to both them and you, because the self-perception of a generous and kind successful person is better than that of a lonely and proud successful person. Both there and there you are successful, but what do you have besides success? Loving and devoted friends, proven over the years, reliable partners, or a snake-like ball of ill-wishers, greedily watching your mistakes? It's up to you to decide. Be honest, kind and patient! And you will be rewarded.

How ambitions arise

Most people believe that ambition is an inherited trait. This view has the right to life because it is not based on nothing. Pay attention, who is an ambitious person? Often the son or daughter of successful people who have reached great heights. Or the offspring of talkers, braggarts, greedy people and misers who raised their children in the same spirit. But if you dig deeper, ambition cannot be called a hereditary trait.

Everything is formed in childhood, and for this reason children are similar to their parents. It is adults who can awaken excessive, unappreciated or inadequate ambitions in a child. Parents who are dentists, for example, understand that in order to pursue a career as a dentist, they need to study well, complete medical school, and constantly improve themselves. They teach their child to work hard. Since childhood, they attend various clubs, sections, engage in science, sports, etc.

If the children in the family are not interested in anything, but only dream of a successful career in a certain industry, nothing will come of it. Their ambitions are inflated. Finally, even if a loved one does well in school, gets good grades, and attends sports clubs, parents say that he or she will not achieve anything. This is a perfect example of low ambition. He is raised as a child by pessimistic parents, whiners and losers. The saying “water does not flow under a lying stone!” more relevant than ever.

Ambition is often the product of unreasonable admiration for a child's actions. This happens - a child picks up candy wrappers from the floor - and the whole family is simply delighted with this ordinary act. Then the child could turn on the TV - “look what a good boy! Then performances in kindergarten, at school, and every such moment makes the family swoon - what an event! In other words, ordinary actions cause violent reactions that have no basis. The child gets used to easy success and develops ambitions. As a child grows, his ambitions grow along with his needs.

There are many exceptional moments when a child raised in a family with insufficient ambition is able to achieve great things. This is especially true for those who have been constantly told that they cannot succeed. And the point here is not that “I can do it!” “Why am I inferior to others!” She challenges society and proves that everything is possible, the main thing is to fight unjustified ambitions. And move towards your goal without stopping and without doubting your abilities.

Ambition is a complex characteristic of a person that develops throughout his life.

What are the types of ambitions?

As we already know, there are overestimated and underestimated ambitions. However, let's look at each of them separately.

1. That is, excessive ambition - a person sets goals for himself, but has no financial, intellectual, or time basis for this. He acts arrogant and swaggering, he brags, but in reality he has nothing of himself. A simple and accessible example is girls from rural areas who dream of becoming pop stars. No, no one is saying that there are no talented people in the provinces. But if we are talking about a person who has neither a voice, nor artistry, nor an attractive appearance, what kind of desire for “stardom” can we talk about?
2. Low ambitions - a person sets himself small, simple desires and does not strive for something more in this life. The question may concern the choice of the other half, career, material wealth.
3. There is also a third type of ambition - adequate. From the name itself we understand that this trait is inherent in an intelligent, intellectually developed, wise person. These types are capable of achieving their goals, but they go towards them gradually, without affecting the quality of life of others and taking into account the interests of loved ones. Ambitions can concern different areas of life. Therefore, psychologists also distinguish political, career, economic, imperial and other ambitions.

It is worth understanding the following - ideal people do not exist. And if your picture of the future is disrupted by ordinary quarrels, misunderstandings, children’s refusal to listen and do everything your way, you live in an illusory world. Look at yourself from the outside. Do your views, character traits and habits match your dreams of an ideal family? It's difficult, you also have shortcomings. The most important thing is to find love and understanding, and everything else can be overcome.

Is it good to be an ambitious person?

It is difficult to say this unequivocally. What does ambition mean to you in a person? If this is the ability to confidently go towards a goal, then there is nothing wrong with that. If this is arrogance, selfishness and boasting, then it is worth considering.

Overall, it's good to be ambitious. After all, a person is constantly developing, moving forward. The problem arises when there is ambition, but the person remains in one place.

Ideal - a person wants and knows how to get what he wants. This is the golden mean. There are also two extremes. The first are those who believe that nothing will work out. The second is exaggerated, naked ambitions. A person sets himself a deliberately unattainable goal and, naturally, fails.

Realization of ambitions

Ambition in character motivates every person to action. If it’s not there, you can lie on the couch and admire the successes of others. If ambition is inherent in a person’s character, he sets goals for himself and does everything to achieve them.

But it also happens that ambition is a negative character trait. We can talk about positive things if a person has a basis for hope to realize his plans in practice - education, personal development, knowledge. But if a person does not have the basis for drawing up and implementing plans, then ambitions are false. It is like a mirage in the desert, it is built on sand and therefore disappears.

What does ambition mean? Do you have this quality?

Zvyonka

Ambitiousness in a person's character is a quality that is most often compared to arrogance or arrogance. The negative assessment of ambition is explained by the fact that modesty in Russia and many other countries was valued much higher than arrogance or pretentiousness, with which ambition is often associated.

However, one can seriously argue with this, because there is another point of view on this quality.

And ambition has two levels: a ) moderate and b ) increased.

Exaggerated pretentiousness is really not something positive. And moderate is compared with perseverance, hard work, careerism in a good sense, and so on. Some high goal that an ambitious person strives for can make him more principled, self-confident, and timid.

If we can talk about “good ambition,” then it won’t hurt. A person is dissatisfied with what cannot be satisfied. But, calmly achieving what he wants, he sets the next goal and so, step by step, begins to move forward, which in itself cannot be negative.

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I strive for self-development. This is a sign of a certain ambition. But I hope that the most noticeable traits of my character are defined in other words.

Elena d

I think ambition is constantly raising the bar for oneself (usually in the professional sphere) and the desire to jump over it at all costs. Mainly to prove his superiority over others. Sometimes, just to show off. and, oddly enough, to the detriment of work. A share of ambition should be present, in my opinion, in every person, but in very measured doses. I don’t consider myself an ambitious person, because... I equate this quality with arrogance, and I don’t like it when they build a pyramid out of s—.

bolshoyvopros.ru

Is it possible to adjust ambition?

As we have already found out, ambition is formed in early childhood. Therefore, it is difficult to fight destructive ambitions or cultivate healthy ambitions.

If you have begun to realize that your ambitions are far from normal, you are already on the right track. After all, admitting you have a problem is almost half the solution. The rest is up to you: whether you work on the dark sides of your personality or leave everything as it is.

Healthy criticism of people you consider authoritative or simply more experienced and wise can help in the fight against destructive ambitions. You should also try to satisfy your ambitions by actually developing and improving your skills, rather than by daydreaming.

Now let's look at how you can become more ambitious if you lack this trait:

1. Raise your self-esteem. To help, I can recommend reading our articles on how to become confident and how to increase self-esteem.
2. Learn to set the right goals. I recommend reading about how to set goals and taking courses and training on goal setting.
3. Work on your willpower, learn to make decisions and take responsibility for them.

When ambitions are too high

If you notice that your ambitions are taking over, learn to suppress them.

1. If you understand that you have high ambitions, let them be within you.
2. Spend more time thinking, meditating, recognizing your own emotions and feelings.
3. Fall in love with yourself. Then you will be less likely to look for love in someone else.
4. Decide what is of greatest value to you, understand that you don’t have to argue with someone about something, pursue your goals and objectives.

Now you know what ambition is and who an ambitious person is. As you can see, with a normal level of ambition, a person can achieve great heights, but excessive ambition interferes with normal life activities and affects relationships with other people.

It is important that your ambitions are adequate

Ambitious women are always lonely

This is how ambitious career women are portrayed to us in TV series, films, advertising campaigns and glossy magazines. Every evening the poor things come to their luxurious apartments in Manhattan, open a bottle of expensive wine and sit down to gaze at the lights of New York at night. Such lyrical episodes, of course, take place, and it would be stupid to condemn a person for the fact that sometimes he just wants to be alone with himself and enjoy peace and tranquility (and wine), but even if we call it loneliness, he is fine the definition “quality” or even “hedonic” is appropriate. For example, spending the whole evening in a spa without having to cook dinner for someone...

Is it possible to fight ambitions?

If a person’s ambitions interfere with his life or cause inconvenience to others, it makes sense to fight them. However, there is one thing. It's the same as with an alcoholic or drug addict. It is impossible to fix a problem if the person suffering from the “problem” does not want it. If he has not admitted that his ambitions are harmful, then there is no point in doing anything.

Where there is acceptance, you need to start by analyzing your actions and actions. It is important to identify positive and negative character traits. To do this, take a sheet of blank paper and write on it all the bad things that you notice in yourself. And fight the negative quality every time. Of course, this cannot be corrected immediately. But time is on your side - keep fighting and you will succeed.

1. You must learn to respond normally to criticism from those who truly treat you with respect and love. There is no need to see a catch, betrayal, or betrayal in everything. Only people who truly love you can tell the truth. And spiteful critics, watching your unfounded ambitions, rub their hands with pleasure.
2. If you have a desire to realize your ambitions, pay attention to how adequate they are and whether they correspond to your internal and external potential. If yes, go ahead and don't fight it, if you don't have the ability, give it up and don't make people laugh. Talking with loved ones will help you. Listen to their assessment of your work and advice. You don't have to do everything, but you should consider the pros and cons of what you do.

Ambitious women are future “spinsters”

In fact, the future of the “old maid” can await anyone: both a woman and a man, and you can hardly insure yourself against this by spending all day, instead of working, sorting through candidates on dating sites and going on dates. Yes, ambitious women who are busy with their career growth really have less time to communicate with the opposite sex, but they try not to waste the rare moments that they devote to this and not with just anyone. After all, when time is money, you won’t waste it uselessly.

Modern ambitions – what they look like

Experienced experts in the field of psychology argue that ambition today is the main way to achieve positive results in life. Ambition has become a fashionable character trait, because otherwise you “can’t survive” in our world. We kindly ask readers not to confuse the ambitions of modern man with greed and cynicism.

Let's ask ourselves, with such competition, a huge number of people craving a good job and salary, is it possible to “survive” without ambition? Only if somewhere on the outskirts of the country, without any prospects for the future. But, as we already know, they must be healthy and appropriate. And the formation of ambitions is influenced by such qualities as self-esteem, heredity, education and personal factors.

1. Self-esteem is very closely related to the aspirations of the individual. Those who have too high self-esteem have inflated ambitions. And those with low self-esteem should not expect more than low aspirations. And, of course, an appropriate level of self-esteem is a healthy requirement.
2. Family. In some homes, the operative word in raising children is “should”! Hearing this from childhood, the child grows up to be someone who must fulfill the wishes and expectations of adults.
3. Personal factors - we are all divided into two types of people - introverts and extroverts. The first ones are closed, do not make friends and live in their own world. The latter, on the contrary, have a high level of communication, easily get along with people and make friends. And, of course, these traits influence ambitions. And interestingly, introverts are more likely to have high expectations. But extroverts try to please everyone and everything and are not able to achieve much due to a low level of ambition.