What is ambition - traits of an ambitious personality, the pros and cons of ambition

Updated July 22, 2022 352 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. The term “ambition” consists of two parts: “honor” and “love”, both seem to be “good” and evoke pleasant associations.

However, the real meaning of the word is far from the first impression, and therefore many people do not use this concept “for its intended purpose.”

Ambition is...

In the Russian explanatory dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov:

ambition is “the thirst for fame, honor, the desire for an honorable position.”

To put it simply, it is selfishness that pushes a person to achieve all sorts of heights in his personal life and social activities: fame, relevance, respect.

An ambitious person wants to be the best, chases championship in literally everything - this is how he feeds his ever-hungry ego.

Ambition is often confused with vanity (what is it?). The second is an integral part of the first, but not its synonym.

Vanity is a more “petty” concept – the thirst for glory in any of its manifestations. Ambition is aimed at global achievements.

Where do the roots come from?

For those who are interested in what ambition is and where it comes from, such a personal quality appears as a result of a person’s internal need to assert himself and prove to the whole world his value and significance, to receive tangible evidence of his merits.

Ambition is more of a masculine quality. It should be on par with such masculine qualities as determination, responsibility and self-confidence. Try to find a woman who would be satisfied with her state of affairs, because women are desire-producing units. A man, as an ambitious person, will accumulate women’s desires in his mind and subconsciously strive for more in order to provide himself and his companion with a better standard of living. By the way, women easily recognize vanity, which does not make a person pleasant at all, but only repels him.

Only those who see their success and recognition of merit ahead are ready to work. Anyone who is convinced of their own importance gains self-respect and a healthy sense of self-esteem. Respect does not need words; when a person is respected, he feels it, just as those around him, seeing the attitude of others towards him, are imbued with a feeling of respect for him.

Ambition, built into the psychological organization of a person, acts as an ethical quality of the individual and is revealed in the interaction of a person with society.

Ambitious Personality Traits

1. Sets unrealistic goals and persistently pursues them;
2. considers himself smarter, prettier, more successful, etc. others, openly declares this;
3. an ambitious person is seriously confident in his superiority over others: he thinks that those around him are jealous;
4. poorly developed empathy (what is it?) or its absence - does not know how to sympathize, feel sorry for others, therefore easily steps over those who get in the way;
5. the only thing an ambitious person is afraid of is the failure of his plans;
6. criticism can infuriate him, as it is perceived very painfully;
7. prone to hypercontrol, likes to command, imposes his “orders” everywhere.

Psychological approach

Psychologists say that ambition is a character trait, that is, a stable, and not a “pointed” manifestation of personality. An individual behaves this way always and with everyone.

Where do overly inflated self-esteem, unbridled pride and an unrealistic view of the world come from?

American psychoanalyst Karen Horney wrote that ambition is a neurotic need (book “The Neurotic Personality of Our Time”).

This means that the desire to be “ahead of the rest” is dictated by childhood traumas: any child wants to be loved by his parents, receive praise from them, and be needed by them. If this does not happen, then self-esteem suffers: the baby draws conclusions about his worthlessness, insignificance, and feels like an empty place.

“Unaccepted” children quickly learn that good deeds evoke a positive reaction from adults. From this moment on, their leading strategy in life becomes the slogan “I will be the best, and then they will love me.”

An adult with such an attitude respects himself only when he reaches the next peak. His own failures bring down his already unstable self-esteem, make him feel humiliated, and drive him into a state of insignificance, which for him is like death.

Such an individual does not accept himself entirely: he forbids himself to be angry, envious, cry, get sick, etc. He imagines himself to be ideal, a superman, a hero.

Human manifestations that are perceived by him as negative (shameful, indicating weakness) are suppressed, and everything that is good (approved by society) is emphasized tenfold. Often this “policy” leads to neurotic disorders.

Pros and cons of ambition

So what is ambition – is it good or bad, is it necessary to fight it or not? I would like to answer in the words of Paracelsus:

“Every medicine can become a poison, and every poison can become a medicine, it’s all a matter of dose.”

On the one hand, our planet “turns” thanks to ambitious people:

1. they are pioneers - engines of progress;
2. create the greatest works of art;
3. Motivated to succeed, they set new records.

On the other hand, the more a child is traumatized in childhood - the core of his personality is destroyed (what is this?), the more his ambition will manifest itself. And the motive in this case will be not just the desire to prove to the whole world one’s importance, but hatred of all humanity.

An unconscious desire to take revenge for one’s grievances and to reduce mental pain makes the individual’s actions dangerous for others (kill a rival, frame a competitor and put him in prison, etc.). And then there is no need to talk about creation here: human behavior is aimed at destruction.

Author of the article: Liliya Sergeevna Kovalenko (psychologist)

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages KtoNaNovenkogo.ru

Comments and reviews (2)

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What difference does it make to us whether an ambitious person was traumatized in childhood or not, the main thing is what he gave to the world, and you yourself admit that ambitious people make great discoveries and create works of genius. If so, is it worth delving into the motives that guided the person?

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I don’t understand why we are taught from childhood that selfishness and ambition are something bad. A person without these qualities, as a rule, is very convenient for others, but he himself is often quite unhappy.

Morphological and syntactic properties

ambition

Noun, inanimate, neuter, 2nd declension (declension type 7a according to the classification of A. A. Zaliznyak).

Root: -honest-

;
interfix: -o-
;
root: -love-
;
suffix: -иj
;
ending: -e
[Tikhonov, 1996].

Pronunciation

Bibliography

InterpretationTranslation Ambition is a negative spiritual and moral quality of a person, manifested as a person’s desire for honor, glory, fame, recognition, honor or a higher position.
Ambition, especially highly developed, kills simple human feelings and pushes people to violate moral commandments. One smart person said that “a slave has one master, but an ambitious man has as many as there are people useful for his elevation.” Ambition can be a motive for activity and the reason for many successes. Being better, taller, having more are incentives for vain and very proud people. These are, as a rule, materialistically minded people and people with a shallow soul. As a person’s spirituality develops, this quality decreases, being replaced by positive moral qualities. Fundamentals of spiritual culture (encyclopedic dictionary of a teacher).— Yekaterinburg.
V.S. Bezrukova. 2000. Synonyms
:

See what “Ambition” is in other dictionaries:

• Ambition - Mystery of feelings * Memory * Desire * Dream * Enjoyment * Loneliness * Waiting * Fall * Memory * Victory * Defeat * Glory * Conscience * Passion * Superstition * Respect * ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms
• ambition - ambition, ambitiousness, careerism, vanity, vanity, love of fame Dictionary of Russian synonyms. ambition love of glory (obsolete) / excessive: vanity Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z.E.... ... Dictionary of synonyms
• Ambition - Ambition ♦ Ambition The thirst for success, often aimed at the future and expressed in specific actions. Ambition characterizes not so much the current state (as opposed to pride) and current activity (as opposed to zeal), but... ... Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary
• ambition - the expression in a person of motives for achieving primacy, the desire for fame, for receiving awards, for an honorable position in a certain field of activity, sphere of public life. Hypertrophied ambition is enhanced by arrogant vanity... ... Great psychological encyclopedia
• ambition - AMBITION, vanity, outdated. love of fame Ambitionist, careerist, bookish. herostratus AMBITIOUS, vain, outdated. fame-loving... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech
• AMBITION - AMBITION, ambition, plural. no, cf. (book neod.). Love of honors, thirst for honors, desire for them. A man of enormous ambition. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
• AMBITION - AMBITION, I, cf. Thirst for fame, honor, desire for an honorable position. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
• ambition - • great ambition • colossal ambition • insatiable ambition • exorbitant ambition • unheard of ambition • enormous ambition • amazing ambition • monstrous ambition ... Dictionary of Russian Idioms
• AMBITION is a socio-psychological trait of a person, expressed in the desire to take actions in the name of achieving leadership in a team, group (social life, science, culture, etc.). Ch. can act as a stable positive motive,... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy
• AMBITION is the expression in a person of motives for achieving primacy, the desire for fame, for receiving awards, for an honorable position in any field of activity, sphere of public life. Hypertrophied ambition is enhanced by arrogant vanity... ... Eurasian wisdom from A to Z. Explanatory Dictionary

Books

• Two Napoleons. Rise and fall, . The French Revolution opened the way for many ambitious people, among whom Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of the island patriarchal Corsica, rises like a rock. Small, ugly, who spoke... Read more Buy for 173 rubles
• Two Napoleons. Rise and fall, . The French Revolution opened the way for many ambitious people, among whom Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of the island patriarchal Corsica, rises like a rock. Small, ugly, who spoke... Read more Buy for 106 UAH (Ukraine only)
• Temptation, Alexander Kuprin. “You all say: chance, chance... But the fact of the matter is that you can take a deeper look at every trifling case. Let me note that I am now sixty years old. And this is like... Read more Buy for 59 rubles audiobook

Other books on request “Ambition” >>

Morphological and syntactic properties

ambitious

Adjective, type of declension according to A. Zaliznyak’s classification - 1a. Comparative degree - more ambitious, more ambitious.

Root: -honest-

;
interfix: -o-
;
root: -love-
;
suffix: -iv
;
ending: -y
[Tikhonov, 1996].

Pronunciation

Bibliography

Each individual has his own idea of ​​bad and good character traits. A certain person can evaluate some qualities as positive, others as negative. While another person will give these concepts a completely different characteristic. We all decide for ourselves what is bad and what is good for us, and it is impossible to give an exact definition to the concept of “honor” or “ambition”.…

Table of contents:

What it is

Initially, the term meant the desire for fame, but now it is often used in a different, modified sense.

Origin of the word

In one definition, the words “honor” and “love” merge. In the past, the same roots formed another word - “curiosity.”

The meaning of the term “honor” according to Russian dictionaries:

• a set of highest moral and ethical principles of the individual;
• dignity (personal, military, professional);
• good, unblemished reputation, good name.

According to V.V. Kolesov, the internal form of honor is “the part that comes from people,” a reflection of the forms of external regulation of behavior existing in society. Ambition is the desire to achieve a high position, gain fame, fame.

The meaning of the concept in Christianity

This quality is viewed differently in different branches of Christianity. Lutheranism and Protestantism point to the holiness of any work. For them, wealth and wealth are acceptable. Representatives of this denomination are the richest Christians.

In Orthodoxy, this character trait is considered uniquely negative, since it contradicts the concept of love for one’s neighbor and is a sin. It is perceived as a destructive vice that does not correspond to the teachings of Jesus Christ, who was the ideal of humility and righteousness.

Definition in philosophy

The term means a character trait that manifests itself in clearly expressed personal goals, motives and methods of achieving fame, honorary position, primacy, recognition in any field of activity.

The meaning of the word “ambition” has a positive interpretation only when a person seeking to earn “honor” does good deeds without infringing on the rights and freedoms of other people, and climbs the career ladder with dignity and honor.

Ambition, ambitiousness and vanity

In many ways, this quality is similar to vanity. In ambitious aspirations, public interests are taken into account by the individual only insofar as they are consistent with his personal needs. It is associated with the desire to acquire a high social position, weight, influence, as well as to earn official recognition and associated honors and awards.

Ambition means the desire to implement the plans. The main goals are to achieve a high position and a certain status in society. For any ambition, it is worth considering the motives that motivate an individual to succeed. But if everything ends with aspirations, then they can look ridiculous.

Vanity makes an individual selfish and even unpleasant to others. Inflated self-esteem no longer corresponds to current conditions. It already seems to a person that he has the right to impose his opinion on others, he becomes uncooperative in a team, and it is difficult for him to find a common language with those around him. The thirst for success forces you to enter into a deal with your conscience, to go over your head in order to win.

Healthy ambitious thoughts will help you achieve success in life, but if an individual is subject to pride and vanity, then he risks being left alone, with an abundance of mental trauma and emotional blockages.

Definition of the term ambition

Wikipedia gives us the following definition of the term “ambition”: the character-based desire of an individual to achieve success in accordance with personal goals in such areas of life as personal productivity, success, recognition, influence, leadership, knowledge or power. Thus, ambition is an individual’s desire to achieve certain successes. We can conclude that this quality is positive in nature, because an individual’s desire to achieve heights cannot be considered a negative personality quality. However, many psychologists take the opposite point of view.

This is interesting: what is the condition for successful activity?

An ambitious person in psychology is an individual who is in constant search of veneration and respect from other people. He likes it when people literally “look into his mouth”, admiring his exploits and successes. Such people can be found both in fairy tales and in real life. Let's give an example from the literature. A character named Ambitious appears in a popular fairy tale for adults. Saint-Exupery perfectly represents the individual in The Little Prince who wants everyone to admire and imitate him.

Signs of an ambitious personality

The term “ambition” can be broken down into two words: honor and love. The phrase “love honor” sounds positive only if the individual who craves honor actually does good deeds and achieves success towards his goal. The other side of this aspect is the desire to achieve set goals no matter what, while infringing on the interests of others and putting one’s own person above others. In psychology, this is an indicator of selfish behavior, which is not a positive personality trait. Many great psychologists have said that selfishness is a sin of the human soul.

This is interesting: will is what it is, the basic concept.

There are several signs by which you can recognize an ambitious person.

1. Selfishness is the first sign of a selfish individual. A person striving for veneration is an egoist. In ethics, there is the concept of “exploitative orientation,” according to which a person uses the people around him to achieve his own goals. Such people are not accepted by society; it is difficult for them to make friends and acquaintances. For an ambitious person, honor is just a mirage that they want to create in order to rise in the eyes of others.
2. The ambitions of ambitious people are usually too high, but not justified. An individual may set too many goals that he cannot achieve both physically and emotionally. An ambitious person may lie about the amount of work he is able to do. Such an individual can easily lie for his own benefit.
3. Pride is one of the characteristics that distinguishes an ambitious person. It should never be confused with pride. Pride is one of the deadly sins. Such people usually have high self-esteem; they have a high opinion of themselves and their capabilities. Such people are also not accepted by society and are rejected by it.
4. Overreacting to criticism is a fairly common symptom found in ambitious people. When forming a personality, two paths arise - accept criticism and adequately evaluate it, or reject criticism and react sharply to it. People who desire honor usually cannot take criticism well and react aggressively and irritably.

General information

It helps an individual set certain goals and achieve them, despite the difficulties that arise. Such an individual is a winner by nature. The word ambition describes a quality of character manifested by the expressed goals of an individual, the desire to achieve primacy, the need to be recognized in one's field of activity.

A decent person can be ambitious, and this quality is confirmed by his nobility and truthfulness. Ambition in such a person does not destroy humanity. Such a person will have a kind heart and a pure mind.

This quality develops when an individual needs to prove to everyone and to himself his own importance. Ambition is more characteristic of the male gender. A man with healthy ambition will strive to achieve more and move up the career ladder, because he must take care not only of himself, but also of his partner and children.

Ambition, as a psychological component of a person’s personality, is an ethical quality and is determined by the interaction of the individual with society. If this quality is found in a kind person, it has positive manifestations and does not harm the environment. If a bad person, then, being in the power of a destructive personality, this quality can negatively affect those around him, especially if the person has power.

Ambition has two enemies: the victories of other people and unfulfilled dreams. For example, a situation where an individual is overly arrogant reveals that he does not have enough talent. Then the dream he wanted to strive for will remain so until the end of his days.

Advantages and disadvantages

Ambition can have both positive and negative sides. It is believed that many of humanity's achievements would not have been accomplished without this quality. It allows you to move on, create new discoveries. The fruits of ambition are:

• scientific and technical developments;
• works of art;
• discoveries in medicine that make it possible to resist serious diseases.

It is worth considering that here we are talking about a moderate manifestation of ambition. However, in a situation where the satisfaction of one’s needs, one’s ego comes first, and the good of society comes second, then nothing good can be expected from such a person. A person has a destructive complex of hatred, envy and high self-esteem, which lead to spiritual breakdown.

If, in the presence of ambition, there are no other positive qualities, then it manifests itself negatively. If, along with it, there is determination, responsibility, dedication and perseverance, then the owner of these qualities can do anything.

Having healthy ambition, an individual can direct all his strength to achieve his goal. If there is hypertrophied ambition, which is not supported by its significance, then in its manifestations it approaches vanity. A person becomes dissatisfied with his life, experiences anxiety, and envy.

Characteristic signs

Certain manifestations may indicate that an ambitious person is nearby:

excessive ambitions, in the presence of modest opportunities - a person sets too high goals; pride - the opinion that he occupies an important place in society, and everyone else should grovel; thirst for fame often leads to failure; spiritual callousness and selfishness - such a person does not take into account the opinions of others and is ready to step over people; there is a strong fear of failure; criticism is perceived very painfully and affects the self-esteem of an ambitious person; complete confidence that all people envy him; such a person may not realize that he is trying to control everything, giving instructions to everyone.

How to deal with ambition

The roots of self-obsession originate in childhood. The child wants to be the best, tries to do well in school, and waits for his parents’ praise.

At such a moment, it is extremely important that mom and dad convey to the child that they will not love him less if he makes a mistake and fails.

It is necessary for the child to realize that you do not always need to strive to be the best in order to achieve success:

You need to realize that you are not an omnipotent person and are imperfect. There are no people who have only advantages and no disadvantages. Learn to set goals that you can realistically achieve over time.

Moreover, to begin with, it is better to set goals that can be achieved in a day or two. It is necessary to continue to engage in self-development, but at the same time it is important to take into account the opinions of the people around you and their interests.

How to get rid of ambition

The roots of this quality lie in childhood.
If a child has always been taught to be first, get excellent grades, excel in all activities, and do everything “better than everyone else,” he may develop a desire to receive honors and praise for the work he does. It is worth remembering that ambition is a negative and positive quality that has its advantages and disadvantages. If an individual feels that he wants to get rid of it, it is worth looking for the reasons for the emergence of such a character trait in early childhood. There are various trainings and exercises that allow you to fight ambition.

This is interesting: what is the connection between activity and human qualities?

An important point in any of these exercises is determining the individual’s self-esteem and correct analysis. Self-esteem can be:

• adequate;
• inadequate;
• average;
• high;
• low.

The ideal indicator is an average adequate self-esteem. With adequate analysis, people who strive for veneration notice that their self-esteem is high and inadequate. In some cases, ambitious people have high adequate self-esteem.

Ambitious people in some cases actually achieve great success. A striking example is Steve Jobs. He considered himself an ambitious, moderately selfish person who reacts sharply to criticism. Thus, each individual decides for himself whether ambition is a positive or negative personality trait, and then decides whether to get rid of this quality or, conversely, develop it.

Ambitiousness - good or bad

Ambitio is translated from Latin as “excessive conceit and heightened self-esteem.” These are claims for respect and recognition, the individual’s confidence that he deserves the best.

Distinctive properties of ambitions:

1. Understated. They occur in people with low self-esteem, too modest and shy, and unsure of themselves. An individual has a feeling of guilt for his success. There are many factors that inhibit desires: negative internal dialogue, tightness and conflicts. All this prevents people from seeing their own potential.
2. Overpriced. Incorrect comparison of the responsibility taken with the real ability to withstand it. The individual does not compare his talents and abilities with the real complexity of the task. He imagines himself to be the center of the Universe, grabs onto everything, and when something doesn’t work out, he gets offended by the whole world and withdraws into himself.
3. Adequate. The balance between ability and task complexity is the ideal “golden mean”. Reasonable prioritization and competent assessment of one’s strengths. With adequate ambitions, great breakthroughs are made, the individual moves forward, without losing family and friends due to overly inflated self-esteem or, conversely, softness.

So, is being an ambitious person good or bad? On the one hand, such people persistently achieve their goals. Moreover, no woman will look at a man who does not have big plans for the future. On the other hand, this quality can acquire very negative and destructive manifestations.

The most important thing is to achieve a balance between getting your own way and not harming others in the process. If an individual is well-educated and understands that when achieving his goals there is no need to infringe on the interests of others or attack their dignity, then he will achieve what he wants without making enemies and ill-wishers.

You need to achieve what you want, but you don’t need to be blind and not notice other people. You should choose a wise, experienced patron and trust him, measure your capabilities with the tasks, and also have enough common sense so that in case of failures you do not blame anyone but yourself, and extract valuable experience from them.

The video discusses the importance of determination in life.

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Sources used:

• https://ktonanovenkogo.ru/voprosy-i-otvety/chestolyubie-chto-ehto-takoe-chestolyubivyj.html
• https://ru.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambition
• https://spiritual_culture.academic.ru/2419/ambition
• https://ru.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambitious
• https://obrazovanie.guru/psihologiya/chestolyubivyj-chelovek-i-chestolyubie-chto-oznachayut-eti-slova.html