Ambition - what does it mean? Description of the concept, character traits

• November 27, 2018
• Psychological terms
• Marusya the Cat

In the modern world we often hear the definition of “ambitious person”. In order to find the answer to this question, it is necessary to understand what the word “ambition” means.

It appeared in Russian at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and is translated from Latin as “walking in a circle,” “circling,” “courting.” This concept is also defined as “vanity”, “ambition”, “vanity”. This is a deformed consciousness, which is expressed in the desire to prove personal superiority by achieving specific goals.

Ambitiousness is an ambiguous sign, since it has its positive and negative sides. Psychologists recommend understanding this concept more deeply in order to get the maximum benefit from this trait.

What is ambition

Experts tried to figure out the mysterious definition of ambition - what it means in a person’s character and whether it should be perceived exclusively in a negative way. First of all, this is an individual intention and desire to achieve goals. A person can feel confident only if he understands his specific tasks and how to solve them. An ambitious person is one who does not allow himself to be manipulated because he has a sense of self-worth.

In the absence of personal ambitions, life becomes boring and monotonous. A person lives by inertia, not trying to fix anything and meekly accepting all the vicissitudes of fate. This means that a person’s ambitions shape his character and make him an independent, responsible and independent person.

Is it good to be an ambitious person?

It's difficult to say for sure. What do you mean by ambition in a person? If it is the ability to confidently go towards achieving goals, there is nothing wrong with it. If this is arrogance, pride and arrogance, it’s worth thinking about.

In general, being ambitious is a good thing. After all, a person is constantly developing and moving forward. The problem arises when there is ambition, but the person remains stagnant.

The ideal option is that a person wants and knows how to get what he wants. This is the golden mean. There are also 2 extremes. The first is those who believe that nothing will work out. The second is inflated, naked ambitions. A person sets obviously unattainable goals and, of course, fails.

Types of Ambitions

Ambitions come in different forms—there are many different aspects hidden in this concept. They may vary over time and change depending on circumstances. There are common expressions: “a person lives by ambition” or “a flash of ambition.” This means that there is either constant uncompromisingness in the character, or the person suddenly felt a surge of energy and confidence in his abilities. But the classical understanding of the meaning of ambition dictates the presence of three main forms:

1. Understated. A person initially sets goals that are achieved on their own. He doesn't have to make any special efforts to implement them. Low ambitions can also be characterized as a lack of direction in life. A person is not upset because he did not receive something, because he did not expect anything. And in the event of a successful combination of circumstances, when success comes on its own, he rejoices and perceives it as a random gift of fate.
2. Adequate. An adequate form of ambition means that a person distributes his forces wisely, does not have his head in the clouds and does not dream of what is a priori impossible to achieve. He sets clear goals for himself, systematically moves along the path to achieving them, and is ready at any moment to adjust his plans depending on the circumstances. This is a fully formed personality who strives for spiritual growth.
3. Overpriced. This is the case when a person is not aware that he is striving to comprehend the impossible. Currently, this type of ambition has become especially popular. More and more people are ready to set unrealistic goals for themselves, do not measure their objective capabilities, and are not ready to stop and think through their further actions. They act ahead, encounter constant failures, but do not draw any conclusions. They are ready to blame everyone around them or circumstances for their troubles, but they never admit their mistakes.

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.

Factors influencing the development of ambitions

Ambition is the psychology of human thinking. It depends on many aspects of influence on personality development. There are three fundamental factors that shape ambition:

• Personality type. A lot depends on the personality type to which a person belongs. Extroverts strive to communicate, they need a large audience, so their circle of acquaintances is constantly expanding. They are very dependent on the opinions of others; they need recognition from society. These people definitely have their own ambitions, since this trait is fundamental to their character. Introverts are the exact opposite of extroverts. They communicate little with others and care little about their reputation. The ambitions of these people are at the lowest level or completely absent.
• Self-esteem. People with high levels of self-esteem necessarily have inflated ambitions. They are so confident in their superiority that they do not notice obstacles to self-affirmation along the way. The situation is also indicative when a person has no ambitions, which means a low level of self-esteem.
• Family environment. An important factor is the environment in which the child was raised. If parents have succeeded in life and have great hopes for their child, they will involuntarily lay the foundation for the formation of an ambitious personality.

Origins

Why does one person have ambitions and another does not? Let's find out the origins and reasons for this behavior. Psychologists say that ambition is passed on from parents to children at the genetic level. Let me disagree with this. We are born without a goal to achieve anything in life. We just want to live. A child experiences the world through his sensations. Through upbringing, parents develop certain character traits in him, including the desire to be first.

It is not easy to develop adequate ambitions in a child if the parents do not have them themselves. The baby, like a sponge, absorbs the behavioral system of his mother and father and becomes like them. That is why it seems that in families that boast of their wealth and position in society, children grow up with inflated ambitions. Children with low ambitions grow up in families of whiners and pessimists. And only parents who have clear life priorities are able to instill in their child an adequate assessment of their abilities. Regular classes in clubs and sections based on interests contribute to their development and teach them to work hard.

Positive sides

Ambition is necessary for a person to be realized in all areas of life. Without a reasonable amount of this quality, success cannot be achieved, since it implies the presence of self-discipline.

Positive sides of ambition, what does it mean:

• generating a desire to achieve success;
• the need to always be in good shape;
• self-improvement;
• assistance in achieving the goal;
• ignoring obstacles;
• commitment to the idea;
• assistance in the process of personality formation in society;
• correct prioritization.

Negative sides

A person with great ambitions is often unhappy. He does not get what he dreams of, does not have the opportunity to relax and open up even to the closest people. He suffers himself and makes everyone around him suffer. Unhealthy ambitions make a person's character very complex. The following qualities appear:

• irritability;
• touchiness;
• selfishness;
• arrogance;
• arrogance;
• egocentrism;
• ruthlessness;
• deceit;
• desire to manipulate people;
• uncompromisingness;
• lack of communication skills;
• aggressiveness;
• authoritarianism.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ambition

Everyone needs ambition in reasonable quantities. After all, it encourages you to move forward.

This is not its only advantage:

• desire to become successful;
• the need to maintain good physical shape;
• self-development;
• achieving all set goals;
• lack of fear of difficulties;
• the right priorities.

Despite so 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 qualities:

• selfishness;
• arrogance;
• irritability;
• ruthlessness;
• deceit;
• uncompromisingness;
• aggressiveness.

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

Signs of healthy ambition

A harmonious personality with healthy ambitions can be recognized by certain signs. These include:

• presence of positive thinking;
• belief in your success;
• the ability to set bold but realistic goals;
• demanding of oneself and others;
• the ability to adjust your plans depending on circumstances without giving up the global goal;
• constant work to improve personal growth;
• presence of activity and energy;
• self-esteem;
• the ability to defend one’s beliefs;
• willpower, steadfastness.

Portrait of an ambitious person

An ambitious person is one who always strives to have more than he has (faster, higher, stronger).

Having achieved one goal, he immediately sets another. His movement is always forward. Such a person differs from an ordinary dreamer in that he sincerely believes in himself and his ability to get what he wants.

Sometimes the aspirant does not even know how to do it, does not have a plan of action and moves intuitively, receiving answers to his questions on the go.

Brief description of an ambitious personality

1. Constant personal growth - such people always learn something. Courses, trainings, coaching, seminars, webinars, reading books... They periodically update their base of professional and everyday knowledge, knowing full well that the world does not stand still;
2. An ambitious person knows his worth. Those around him “feel his self-esteem through their skin”: he is well and neatly dressed, holds his back straight, his actions are precise and confident, he says only good things about himself. Such an individual will stop any attack on his pride or disrespectful attitude calmly and fearlessly. Yes, such people are rarely attacked;
3. He always achieves a successful career. Thanks to internal aspirations, he achieves higher results compared to more talented but less ambitious colleagues;
4. Such individuals are usually optimistic. They believe in the best and do not perceive their failures too critically; they fall and rise, and start again. There is little that can unsettle them, lead them astray from the intended path and abandon the idea.

The influence of ambitions on life spheres

It is very important to objectively determine the role of ambition: what it means and how it affects different areas of a person’s life.

• Professional activity. In the modern world, it is impossible to achieve professional success without a reasonable amount of ambition. A person should strive to study, hone his skills, and gain experience. It depends on this whether he will become a good master of his craft or will be content with odd jobs for the rest of his life.
• Career. You can’t do without ambition in this area. The material well-being of not only the person himself, but also all the people dear to him directly depends on career growth. And financial independence determines the status of an individual in society.
• Family. Family life is precisely the area in which the ambition of one or both spouses can be destructive. Arrogance, self-centeredness and lack of compromise can kill even the strongest feelings. Only common healthy ambitions of partners are allowed, who together strive to achieve their goals and do not give in to difficulties.
• Children. Parents often make a huge mistake in raising their children when they try to realize their own ambitions in them. This means that a distorted idea of ​​the surrounding reality is formed in the child’s character. The baby must grow up to be a self-sufficient person with his own big or small achievements. Parents are obliged to help him in this choice, and not make him a hostage to their desires.

Concept

The term ambicja migrated into Russian-speaking culture from Poland during the time of Peter the Great and at first had the meaning of “pride, arrogance.” In turn, the origins of the Polish word lead us to the Latin ambitio, which translated means “vanity, ambition,” as well as to the verb ambire, which literally means “to seek” favors from influential persons, rank, place.

Read about what vanity and ambition are on our blog.

Thus, in the original version, ambition was assigned a negative message. A man with ambitions sought to please high-ranking officials and achieve patronage, displaying qualities that were not held in high esteem: excessive pride and arrogance.

There is a well-known stable expression “to be overwhelmed by ambition,” which means “to become offended, angry, show pomposity and unnecessary conceit.”

Neither in Rus' nor in the USSR, people who stood out from the crowd and strived to achieve their goals were welcome members of society. Back then modesty, sameness, and equality were valued first of all. All this was necessary to avoid unnecessary criticism and ridicule.

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With the development of society and the spread of English-language words in everyday life, ambitions acquired a different shade. The meaning of the English word ambition indicates a strong desire, hard work, energy, and desire to achieve success.

Modern psychologists and coaches in the field of success, using this term, mean a quality that helps a person set a high bar for himself and achieve maximum results.

If we talk about ambition in simple words, we can remember one good joke:

Ambition is when you go to an exam, you think you know a 2, you hope for a 3, and when they give you a 4, you are indignant that it’s not a 5.

But here we are talking about inflated ambitions. We'll talk about them a little later.

So, what is the final definition given to us by the modern dictionary?

Ambition is the desire, fixed in a person’s character, to achieve success in accordance with personal goals in such areas of life as personal productivity, leadership, power, influence, recognition by society, etc.

Adequate ambitions

It is very important to understand what the word “ambition” means in its positive sense. This means that such ambitions can be managed and adjusted if necessary. In the understanding of a sane person, this sounds like the ability to correctly set priorities, objectively assess one’s purpose, and listen to the opinions of others.

An adequately ambitious person persistently pursues his goal, reacts to obstacles with dignity, does not panic and does not blame anyone for his failures. He feels responsible not only for his life, but also for the well-being and safety of loved ones.

Inadequate ambitions

Inappropriate ambitions are uncontrollable negative emotions. A person is unable to cope with himself, because he is driven by the desire to control everyone, check, and impose his point of view. Such a representative always blames people or circumstances for his failures, never admits mistakes and proves to the last that he is right. He always wants to be a winner, and he will go to this victory at any cost, using the most unscrupulous methods. The saddest thing in this situation is the fact that ambition controls a person. At the same time, he himself is also a hostage to his bad character.

How to spot an ambitious person

Let's look at examples:

1. An ambitious woman is ideal in everything. She is a diligent housewife who takes care of her husband, children, and home. Her place is clean, breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared. This leaves time for yourself. A woman is engaged in self-development, reads a lot, takes care of her appearance and health.
2. An ambitious man can also be seen from afar. He is dressed to the nines, plays sports, and leads a healthy lifestyle. Usually such men successfully build a career and achieve a lot in life.

Those who have ambitions do not boast in vain. They work hard to achieve their goals. This does not mean that they neglect the feelings and desires of others. They make every effort to make their dreams come true.

An ambitious person has self-esteem. He will never stoop to humiliating and insulting others.

Fighting inadequate ambitions

Inappropriate ambitions can and should be fought. Experienced psychologists recommend listening to advice that will help you change your character for the better.

1. If a person realizes that he needs to overcome his ambitions, he is already half cured of the negativity present in him.
2. Love yourself, but with sincere healthy and creative love. Understand what needs to be done to improve your health and appearance, ensure proper rest, and properly distribute your strength. It is worth engaging in self-development and self-improvement. Having loved himself, a person will find inner harmony and will not demand love from everyone around him at the expense of his power or strength.
3. Find a vector of movement, decide on your goals and not be distracted by useless complaints to others. Following your own path, try to help others as much as possible. Do not waste your energy and only watch your actions.

How to formulate goals

Goals in an OKR system are a memorable and concise description of what you want to achieve. Their main purpose is to challenge a team or company.

Another distinctive feature of the OCD system is who forms the goals and results. Unlike KPIs, which are usually set by management, OKRs can be created by the performers themselves. This encourages more initiative and involvement in the company's affairs among ordinary employees.

In addition, goals must meet some important criteria.

Ambition

It is important to maintain a balance here: the goal should be achievable, but not too simple. Imagine what you could do at your best. This will be a great goal.

Finishness and clarity

It's simple: the end point that needs to be achieved must be defined. Try to make the target a fighting unit in its own right, a slogan that doesn't need explanation.

Ambiguous language can lead to conflicts with other employees' goals. For example, team A wants to update the UX of the site: remove outdated elements, change colors and buttons. Team B wants to optimize the site and improve loading speed. At the same time, both used the vague wording “Improve the site,” although by this they mean completely different actions. To avoid inconsistency, Team A should have set the goal “Improve the UX of the site,” and Team B should have set the goal “Speed ​​up the loading of the site.”

Brevity

There shouldn't be many goals. If it is a small startup of five people, one will be enough. For example, “Create an AI calculator app and get to the top best sellers on Google Play” is not a good goal. The best choice would be to focus on the launch of the product (“Create a calculator app with AI”), and only after that, in the following quarters, focus on promoting it.

And even in the case of a large company with a complex structure, try not to create an additional goal once again. If there are too many of them, then it will take a lot of time to synchronize between departments and find out who is doing what.

Steps to Developing Adequate Ambition

There are several effective steps to developing adequate ambition. They will be useful to those who strive for self-improvement. But at the same time, you need to understand how to develop adequate ambitions. This means that you will need to decide on some qualities:

• objective self-esteem;
• personal motivation;
• a clear understanding of your goals;
• confidence in the correctness of decisions;
• self-confidence;
• the ability to listen to the opinions of others;
• correct prioritization.

How to develop ambition

1. Learn to give an objective assessment of your abilities and actions. To do this, you need to try to look at yourself from the outside, think about the topics “what are you like,” “can you change?”
2. Understand your desires, clearly formulate them, think through acceptable ways to help implement your plans.
3. Be completely confident in yourself and your abilities, do not be afraid of mistakes, realize that they are given to us for experience, draw conclusions from them.
4. Set priorities, do it right, set only achievable goals. When results are obtained from them, set even higher standards for yourself that were previously beyond your means, and try to achieve them.
5. Learn to respond adequately to mistakes, admit them, listen to what others say, and do not be offended by their criticism.

Consolidate the result

Having figured out the definition of what a person’s ambitions are and having taken all measures to ensure that they are adequate, it is necessary to summarize the work done. This must be done in order to understand your previous mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future. After about a year of working on yourself, psychologists recommend assessing the benefits of transformation according to the following criteria:

• whether self-esteem has increased;
• whether self-confidence has increased;
• whether there is a desire to make plans for the future;
• whether the number of risks has decreased;
• have your relationships with others improved?
• have there been fewer failures?
• have you managed to learn to control your emotions;
• whether the person has learned to objectively assess the situation.

If a person’s life has noticeably improved, happy events begin to happen more often, and the soul has a feeling of peace and harmony, then everything was done correctly. Even if some points do not yet correspond to the desired results, everything will definitely improve over time. Well, if you haven’t yet been able to feel peace of mind, you need to try to start work again. Adequate ambitions will win, and life will improve.