An ambitious person and ambition: what do these words mean. Ambition - is it good or bad? ambitious man

ambitious man is an individual who strives to be a leader always and in everything. In life, he is driven by the desire to be richer, more successful, more recognizable and happier than everyone else. Based on this, do you think ambition is good or bad? What motivates a person to strive to be the undisputed leader and what are the motives of such people?

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As for the concept of ambition itself, this is the desire of a person to occupy a high position in society, to achieve tangible success, which is commensurate with grades, trophies, awards or numbers. The concept of ambition reveals its meaning through its two roots and means the love of honor.

What is ambition. Synonyms and antonyms of this word

Conceited is a synonym for ambitious. And the extreme degree of expression of the ambitious can border on greed - the desire to seek material gain in everything. In psychological dictionaries, the concept of ambition is positioned as a desire fixed in the human character to always and in everything lead and achieve success in various areas of life. Compared to purposefulness, ambition is directed solely towards personal goals, not altruistic ones. This phenomenon is the subject of pedagogy, psychology, ethics and other equally important humanities.

Ambition - is it good or bad

To date, the question of an ambitious person is quite relevant - is it good or, conversely, is unacceptable in society. In a good sense, this concept drives a person to achieve success in their field of activity. In other words, a person does everything possible to ensure that his work is perfect. In parallel with this, he has a desire to climb the career ladder, receive a lot of flattering reviews, be in the spotlight and stand out in the team.

The advantages of this feature include the performance of work on high level and the ability to rely on such a person. Without developed quality ambition is difficult to achieve success in sports, competitions and other competitions. However, quite often there are situations when an ambitious person completely forgets about morality and ethics, then this concept takes on more of the outline of vanity.

How to develop ambition

Having ambitious goals is not bad at all. If you understand the definition of this word for yourself and decide to develop it in yourself human quality, we strongly recommend that you follow the valuable tips below:

The concept of ambition in Orthodoxy

The Orthodox religion claims that ambition is a sin. A believing Christian should not be like this, because it can grieve the Lord. According to the Orthodox religion, a Christian should be a modest person and not stand out among others. The Bible tells us about how Jesus Christ healed the sick in his life, but at the same time avoided glory and honor. The Holy Gospel calls us to the fact that it is necessary to avoid the vice of hypertrophied ambition.

Antonyms and synonyms of ambition main differences

IN modern world a man who is not ambitious has a hard time. What does ambition mean in today's world? Can this concept be classified as negative? In the end, we ourselves choose the paths that we will follow. Someone's conscience hurts their eyes to pass by a beggar, and someone without a twinge of conscience snatches a tin can of coins from him. In this article, we will analyze and what it is expressed in.

Definition

This term expresses a property of character, which manifests itself as clearly defined personal goals, motives and methods for achieving fame, primacy, honorary position and recognition in any field of activity. The word "ambition" sounds rather grandiloquent, but if you disassemble its components, you can find a merger of two simple words: honor and love. Such a phrase has a positive connotation only when an individual, striving to earn "honor", does good deeds without infringing on the rights and freedoms of other people, rises up the career ladder with dignity and honor.

But the reality is that often the meaning of the word "ambition" is not so noble - it means a person who yearns for honor at any cost, such a person, putting his person above others, goes to his goal, sacrificing those around him. This quality in psychology is an indicator of selfish behavior. And as many great psychologists have said, selfishness is "the sin of the human soul."

What is ambition: manifestations and properties

Ambition determines the specific actions of a person in achieving a career, individual success. A person striving to realize ambitious goals strives with all his might to do his job better than others, constantly improves, develops willpower and potential.

A smart and decent person is distinguished by ambition, which is justified by his knowledge, truthfulness, nobility. The value of ambition in the life of such a person does not prevail over his humanity. He stands out from the rest with a clear head and a kind heart.

The difference between vanity and ambition

One would think that vanity can be called a synonym for ambition. However, vanity is more focused on a cheap effect, it is suitable for one-day people, buffoons. In comparison with this trait of character, ambition is achieved by a deeply thought-out project. This is a serious purposeful and long process of achieving success, at the top of which the brilliance of the virtues of her "climber" will be clearly and clearly reflected.

True ambition can only be satisfied by well-deserved, and not far-fetched, glory. Such an ambitious person commands sincere respect.

Where do roots grow 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 inner 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 a par with such masculine qualities as purposefulness, responsibility and self-confidence. Try to find a woman who would be satisfied with her state of affairs, because women are an aggregate for the production of desires. 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 at all make a person pleasant, but only repels.

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

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

Caution: ambition!

When ambition is inherent in a good person, it is constructive, healthy and positive for others.

If it becomes a property bad man, then, being at the disposal of a destructive personality, it can have an unpleasant effect on people's lives, especially when such a person gains power.

It makes sense for society to nurture healthy professional and career ambition in people. It is healthy ambition that motivates productive social activities. Therefore, it is considered an extremely positive personality trait. By developing a healthy ambition in oneself, a person can achieve unprecedented heights.

This is a completely normal and natural desire - to provide your family with housing, a garage, a garden, and even a swimming pool. Even more natural is the desire of man to give his children the best education, send them abroad to ski or sail on a yacht. These are just applications in life. But will people work overtime if they are not lured by such a lure? Who will study scientific treatises day and night if he does not expect to receive a degree in the future?

In other words, it is impossible to imagine the progress of mankind apart from the ambitious thoughts of its most enterprising and enterprising representatives.

Ambition as part of other character traits

In itself, ambition without reference to other positive qualities of a person becomes a simple fantasy. Only when it is in alliance with purposefulness, perseverance, perseverance, determination, constancy, responsibility, does it turn into a formidable force crushing all obstacles. Fueled by enthusiasm and inspiration, the ambitious person tries to assert himself in his chosen environment. Thanks to ambition, all the forces of a person are directed towards achieving the goal, as if a clot of colossal energy breaks through the dam of dissatisfaction with life.

Prominent ambition

If a person is overwhelmed by hypertrophied, exorbitant, ambition not supported by its own significance, then in all its characteristics it becomes akin to cheap vanity. Painful ambition, which is associated, as in the case of vanity, with the search for vain glory, gives rise to a feeling of chronic dissatisfaction with life, worries and suffering, envy of other people's successes, sacrificing love for a spouse, children and friends.

Enemies of ambition

This character trait can have only two enemies - an unfulfilled dream and someone's achieved goal. This is the case when an arrogant person discovers a lack of talent in himself. Of course, the dream in this case will suffer and remain a dream forever. If this happens to a person, then his wounded ambition finds the reason in the lack of time, in circumstances, bad luck, evil fate and intrigues of enemies.

The second case is a vivid example of the wrong goal setting. This is the very moment when ambition meets the lack of happiness, although the peak may already be conquered. Even more suffering brings the realization that he always went to an imposed, alien goal, which appeared under the influence of stereotypes, false beliefs, beliefs and the influence of society.

This article told you what ambition is. And how to perceive it is already a personal matter for everyone.

Each individual has his own idea of ​​bad and good features character. Some qualities a certain person can evaluate 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 of the concept of "honor" or "ambition".

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Definition of ambition

Wikipedia gives us the following definition of the term “ambition”: the inherent 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 the desire of an individual to achieve certain successes. It can be concluded that this quality is positive in nature, because it is impossible to calculate the desire of an individual to reach heights. negative quality personality. However, many psychologists take the opposite view.

An ambitious person in psychology is an individual who is in constant search of reverence, 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 a fairy tale and in real life. Let's take an example from the literature. A character named Ambitious is found in a popular fairy tale for adults. Saint-Exupery in all its glory represents the individual in " little prince who wants everyone to admire and imitate him.

Signs of an ambitious person

The term ambition can be broken down into two words: honor and love. The phrase "to love honor" sounds positive only if the individual who desires honor actually does good deeds and achieves success on the way to the goal. The other side of this aspect is the desire to achieve your goals no matter what, while infringing on the interests of others and putting your own person above others. This in psychology is an indicator of selfish behavior, which is not a positive quality of a person. Many great psychologists have said that selfishness is the sin of the human soul.

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 perceived 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. ambition ambitious people are usually overestimated, 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 capable of doing. Such an individual can easily lie for his own benefit.
3. Pride- this is one of the signs that distinguish an ambitious person. In no case should it 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 abilities. Such people are also not accepted by society, rejected by it.
4. Acute response to criticism- This is a fairly common sign found in ambitious people. When forming a personality, two ways arise - to accept criticism and adequately evaluate it or to reject criticism and react sharply to it. People who desire honor usually fail to take criticism well and react aggressively and irritably.

How to get rid of ambition

The roots of this quality lie in childhood. If a child has always been taught to be first, to get excellent grades, to excel in all activities, and to do everything “best”, he may develop a desire to receive honors and praise for the work done. It is worth remembering that ambition is negative and positive quality which has its own advantages and disadvantages. If the individual felt that he wanted to get rid of him, 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 deal with ambition.

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

• adequate;
• inadequate;
• middle;
• high;
• low.

The ideal indicator is the average adequate self-esteem. With adequate analysis, people who seek 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 really achieve great success. A prime 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.

Many-sided qualities of the soul, inner world human being is so diverse and full of different properties and shades. A believer should carefully look after his own soul, like a precious garden, and develop only best qualities. Therefore, it is important to know all the shades of the soul in order to be able to accurately choose the best for yourself. Next, consider such a thing as an ambitious person, good or not. Let's analyze this property, based on the Orthodox faith.

As a rule, we can see most clearly what ambition is if we turn to fiction or biographies of various famous personalities.

This quality was possessed and possessed by various ambitious entrepreneurs and businessmen, people who wanted to become the best in something, to surpass the rest, to remain in the memory of others.

Perhaps a good example would be the ideal of the so-called American dream, for which ambition is actually the basis.

In short, in this concept, America is perceived as a country of unlimited possibilities, where everyone can achieve everything with their own efforts. Only for this you need to work hard and act within the framework of healthy competition, put your goals above all else. Such a concept is more characteristic of the offshoots of Christianity, Lutheranism and Protestantism, where practical benefits and labor are praised.

In order to better capture the meaning and meaning, the word ambitious should pick up the following synonyms:

• purposeful;
• focused on leadership;
• conceited;
• striving to be the best;
• careerist;
• perfectionist;
• ambitious and selfish.

You should also choose a possible antonym for this word:

• careless;
• uninitiative;
• not ambitious;
• lethargic;
• conformist;
• follower (not leader);
• slob.

Also, such terms as humble, empathic, sensitive, calm, altruist can act as an opposite. Accordingly, we are not always talking about unambiguously negative and positive connotations. As you can see, both a synonym and an antonym for the term under consideration can be both positive and negative.

Helpful Video: Ambition

In order to better understand whether such a quality affects the soul badly or is positive, we need to look again at the various branches of Christianity. Newer teachings, such as Lutheranism and especially Protestantism, point to the sacredness of all work.

It would seem that a completely normal concept, even a positive one, because even in Orthodoxy, believers are advised to take their everyday lives with righteous work, but there are some differences that are indicated by the most accessible portals - Wikipedia and others.

Protestants see wealth and wealth as a completely acceptable business. Representatives of this denomination, as a rule, are the richest Christians.

Note! In Orthodoxy, ambition is considered unequivocally negative, since to some extent it contradicts the concept of love for one's neighbor and care. It is perceived as a pernicious vice that does not correspond to the teachings of Christ, who was the ideal of humility and absolutely not ambitious.

Nevertheless, Protestants generally approve of almost any work, including usury as a kind of activity. Recall that in Orthodoxy such activity is unacceptable and is associated with the sin of covetousness and the love of money. There are significant differences in this subtlety.

When, for example, a Protestant sets himself ambitious goals of achieving financial well-being, he generally sees the righteous path in his activities and uses a variety of worldly methods in order to arrive at the desired result. The Orthodox, in turn, sensitively considers each option for generating income, assesses whether it contradicts the faith and whether it harms the soul. Thus, it is not difficult to understand why sincerely Orthodox believers cannot always boast of excessive wealth, while representatives of other faiths can even calmly boast of it.

If considered globally, then it is good or not particularly good, people decide based on their own faith and basic worldview concept. For someone to "go over their heads" for their own purpose and put their interests at the center of the world is not only acceptable, but also ideal. For an Orthodox, such an ambitious person does not look quite normal, especially if the quality manifests itself in the most negative aspects.

How to get rid of ambition

The Orthodox faith speaks of the ideal of humility, as they say, "he who humbles himself will be exalted." Of course, we are not talking about some kind of mental or physical masochism and similar morbid inclinations. The ability is meant to:

• do not shield your own ego;
• do not put yourself above others;
• not seek to humiliate others in order to exalt oneself;
• do not look for reasons for self-praise;
• do not look for opportunities to intentionally be better than others;
• not to fall into excessive competitiveness and competition with others;
• do not look for inferior qualities in others that make you feel better than them.

The holy ascetics in Orthodoxy represented these ideals of humility. Seraphim of Sarov, most likely, did not want to become the best saint in the world and set a record for the duration of prayer on a stone or build a convent better than others. Luka Krymsky hardly aspired to become the most famous doctor or move higher in the church hierarchy.

Many other examples can be cited, one way or another, all these ascetics knew what it means to be ambitious, and tried to eradicate such thoughts in themselves. As you can see from these examples, in order to achieve something (especially in the field of faith) it is not at all necessary to have excessive ambition and the intention to become better than others. Of course, a certain boldness is needed, but it always comes with humility and a willingness to humiliate yourself.

It is useful for the simple believer to follow these examples, to understand what the word considered here means, and what are the negative aspects of this property. Humility is hard to come by in today's world, especially when you have to operate in an environment where everyone competes with each other, where everyone acts only in their own interests. However, the personal definition of a true believer is to make behavioral choices based on faith, not majority opinion.

Note! In some areas of activity, partial ambition may be acceptable and bring some positive results. For example, it is useful for a leader to be ambitious in taking care of his subordinates and his own subordinate structure.

Useful video: ambition is a replacement for talent or the need for immortality?

Output

It is necessary to realize where ambition is useful and where it is excessive, and to observe the norms of religious morality. Rejection of ambition does not mean inaction or some kind of passivity. The rejection of this vice means choosing a more difficult but true path, when other people are not perceived as competitors who need to be surpassed, and worldly fame and recognition as the highest goals of being. Such a difficult path is available only to a sincerely and deeply believing person.

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