Ambition: causes, signs, how to get rid of it

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.

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.

Positive and negative sides

This character trait has positive and negative aspects. It is believed that many of humanity's achievements could not have been accomplished without this quality.

In a situation where the satisfaction of one’s ego takes first place, and the good of society comes second, then nothing good can be expected. The individual has a destructive complex of hatred, envy and high self-esteem. As a result, a spiritual breakdown occurs.

If, despite having ambitious plans, there are no positive qualities, then they will manifest themselves negatively. If, along with them, determination and responsibility are present, then the owner of these qualities can do anything. Hypertrophied quality in its manifestations approaches vanity.

Positive manifestations of ambition:

• achieving success in your field of activity;
• focus on perfect performance of work;
• presence of desire to climb the career ladder;
• the ability to rely on such a person.

Without developing this quality, it is difficult to achieve success in competitions and competitions, but quite often there are situations when an ambitious person completely forgets about ethics and morality.

What is ambition?

Psychological dictionaries say that ambition is the desire, enshrined in human character, to achieve success in accordance with personal goals in different areas of life. When compared to determination, this term is aimed at personal goals rather than altruistic ones. Unlike greed, ambition partly refers to obtaining material gain. This concept is the subject of ethics, psychology, pedagogy and other equally important humanities.

Who is an ambitious person

In the broadest sense of the word, to be ambitious means to seek fame and honor.

Phrase Definition

In psychology, an ambitious person is an individual who is in constant search of honor and respect from others. He likes it when others admire his exploits and successes. Such people can be found both in literature and in real life. A character named Ambitious appears in a popular fairy tale for adults. Antoine de Saint-Exupery portrays in all his glory the man in The Little Prince who craves worship and admiration in his direction.

Signs of an ambitious person

The term is broken down into two words: “honor” and “love.” The phrase “loving honor” has a positive connotation only if the person who desires honor actually does good deeds and achieves success towards his goal. The other side of this aspect is the desire to achieve set goals at any cost, while infringing on the interests of others and putting oneself above others.

Signs by which you can determine who is an ambitious person:

1. Selfishness. The first sign of an ambitious person is the desire for veneration. There is a concept of “exploitative orientation”. In ethics, it refers to the use by an individual of the people around him to achieve his own goal. Society does not accept such people; it is difficult for them to make acquaintances and friends. For them, honor is just a mirage with the help of which they want to rise in the eyes of others.
2. Ambition. For ambitious people, they are usually inflated and not at all justified. An individual sets a large number of goals that he cannot achieve both physically and emotionally. He is capable of lying about the amount of work he is able to complete. Such people easily lie for their own benefit.
3. Pride. Not to be confused with pride. Such people usually have inflated self-esteem and high self-esteem.
4. Acute reaction to criticism. When forming a personality, there are two ways - to accept and adequately evaluate comments, or to reject them. Fame-hungry people usually cannot take criticism calmly and react to it with aggression and irritability.

The video describes the neurotic manifestations of this character trait.

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.

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.

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 .

How to get rid of ambition

The Orthodox faith speaks of the ideal of humility: “he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Of course, we are not talking about any masochism and similar painful tendencies.

Implied ability:

1. Don't shield your own ego.
2. Don't put yourself above others.
3. Do not seek to humiliate others for your own aggrandizement.
4. Don't look for reasons to boast.
5. Do not deliberately seek opportunities to be better than others.
6. Avoid being overly competitive and competitive with others.
7. Don't look for the worst qualities in others that make you feel better.

The roots of this personality characteristic lie in childhood. If a child has always been taught to be first, to do everything “better than everyone else” and to succeed in all types of activities, then he may develop a desire to receive praise and honors for the work done. It should be remembered that this quality has its advantages and disadvantages.

If an individual feels that he wants to get rid of this, then he should turn to his childhood. There are various trainings and exercises that allow you to “re-educate” yourself. An important point in any of these exercises is the definition of self-esteem and its correct analysis.

Self-esteem can be:

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

The ideal indicator is adequate self-esteem. In some cases, ambitious people actually achieve great success. A striking example of this is Steve Jobs. He considered himself an ambitious, moderately selfish person who reacts sharply to criticism.

Everyone decides for themselves whether a given quality is positive or negative, and then decides whether to get rid of it or develop it.

Pros and cons of ambition

A strong person: 9 signs of true strength

The advantage is the desire for development. Ambitious people achieve more at work. They often invent something new, improve existing models, and become champions or Nobel Prize winners. They help the company where they work to develop. In business, too, people often achieve more. Many discoveries and works of art are the result of the work of ambitious individuals.

The boss can always rely on such an employee. An ambitious person will not be irresponsible about the responsibilities assigned to him; he will always do the job as well as possible, diligently.

In his field of activity, this person achieves more than those around him. It is aimed at career growth. If he prefers to open his own business, he does everything to make the business profitable and bring him material benefits in the future. Such people will be able to support their family at a good level, their children will not starve.

The downside is being too focused on material goods. Ambition can lead to cruelty towards others. To achieve their goals, ambitious people often choose methods that can harm someone.

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 he does not always have to strive to be the best in order to succeed.

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.

Society must instill in a person career and professional ambition and its healthy manifestation. So this quality will allow you to have productive social activities. If a person manages to develop ambition and uses it moderately, he will be able to achieve a lot.

Now you know what an ambitious person means. As you can see, such a person can be quite successful and reach great heights. However, with a pathological manifestation of ambition, its owner harms both himself and his environment.

Ambition in literature and film

Ambition is a central theme in many literary works. Examples:

• William Shakespeare: Macbeth
  (England, 1606)
• Stendhal: Red and Black
  (France, 1830)
• Guy de Maupassant: Dear Friend
  (France, 1885)
• Henrik Ibsen: Hedda Gabler
  (Norway, 1890)
• Klaus Mann: Mephisto
  (Germany, 1956)

Also in many feature films, the theme of ambition is at the center of attention. Examples:

• Face
  (USA, 1933)
• Citizen Kane
  (USA, 1941)
• All the King's Men
  (USA, 1949)
• The Most Beautiful
  (Italy, 1951)
• All About Eve
  (USA, 1951)
• Becket
  (UK, 1963)
• Black Swan
  (USA, 2010)
• Obsession
  (USA, 2014)

How to develop ambition

Having ambitious goals is not a bad thing. If you understand the definition of this word for yourself and decide to develop this human quality in yourself, then we strongly recommend that you follow the valuable advice given below:

Who, if not you, will achieve success in life? People who set their thinking exclusively in a positive way and repeat positive statements quite often. These are the kind of statements that are compliments to yourself

Using them, you will be able to raise your self-esteem and improve your problem-solving skills in stressful and force majeure situations. It's important to focus on what you can gain without focusing on what you can lose. It is necessary to consider failures as a kind of elimination process and as a given. Learn to enjoy your successes, but don't get hung up on them. Every word must be backed by action. Set goals for yourself and think through different strategies that will allow you to achieve them

Become familiar with the concepts of long-term and short-term goals. In this case, it is advisable to reward yourself for achieving your goals.

The meaning of the word ambitious

Examples of the use of the word ambitious in literature.

Athrong reigned safely for several years; at that time, throughout Herod's hereditary borders, which included Idumea, Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, Batanea, Gavlan, Avran and Trachon, unrest was constantly flaring up and many candidates for the throne, messiahs and similar ambitious people were scouring .
A great ambitious man, he stepped over the dead as easily as a sober squeamish man steps over drunks in a tavern.

And how clearly Atreus strives to use the young ambitious priest in his own interests, without noticing that the relationship that has developed between them is already turning to his detriment!

And from the fact that the Buddha expressed concerns about ambitious people before his death, we can conclude that Devadatta or his supporters outlived Gautama.

“I am ambitious,” Infante Manuel corrected her, “I think about myself and those who are close to me.”

Abdicate before your foot touches the first step of the throne, which is disputed by so many ambitious people, and do not, like me, be insolent in order to live.

No, the drink from the very first sip turned out to be disgusting and bitter, since Lysander not only did not allow the people to manage their affairs, but in addition, transferring power over the cities into the hands of a few, he chose among them the most daring ambitious people.

The ambitious Melanphius called several shepherds here for a secret meeting.

Anhaf had to choose one of two solutions: either he was dealing with secret agents, like him, or these were two ambitious people who wanted to get information from him that would cost them the favor of the musheer and a significant material bonus.

He spent most of his time in his office, but when meeting with his wife and children, he was unusually kind and gentle with them and in front of them he never expressed his bleak and skeptical views of an unscrupulous ambitious and careerist, as if protecting his beloved beings from his pernicious influence, and the children were proud of their father and loved him dearly, attributing his unsociability and not particularly close relationships with professors to his passion for academic pursuits.

To stop at first the stupid attempts of the Old Believers, to limit the insane desires of the innovators, not to allow a single party of ambitious people to rise to the expense of Russia and to guide the young sovereign for the good of the people entrusted to him - this is the feat that lies ahead of us.

In the oprichniki, Tolstoy sees only a gang of ambitious people, false friends of power, not realizing that the oprichniki were a landowner layer, nobles, more than the boyars, loyal to the autocrat tsar, who helped him strengthen centralized power in the state.

After an ill-fated attempt to live in style, which consumed all his savings, he went to work with youthful zeal, which is so quickly cooled by the cares and amusements Paris provides for every person, rich and poor, and which only the exuberant energy of genuine talent or the dark will of an ambitious man.

Do you, then, respect your own nature less than the minter his coinage, the dancer his dance, the silver lover the silver-lover, the vanity the ambitious?

And that is why minds under the yoke of boundless despotism are in the same unrest and torment as under a republic, with the only difference that under autocracy the silent anxiety of the subjects leads to deep mental turmoil, for an ambitious person who wants to succeed under an absolutist method of government is forced to hide his passion.

Source: Maxim Moshkov library