Positive and negative aspects of being ambitious - Greenfilled (2024)

• March 4, 2022
• 9:00 am
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Like everything in life, ambition also has two poles, the positive and the negative, so we can find positive aspects of ambition, as well as some negative ones that will make an impact on our healthy life.

It is common to hear that ambition is related to the excessive desire of a person to achieve their goals, regardless of the price they have to pay for it or who it may affect.

But this version of ambition is not correct, since personal attitude is related to the values that are possessed, and ambition, as such, is an emotion that carries many aspects that will be important to identify.

That said, in this post we will learn about the positive aspects of ambition, as well as the negative ones. But not before knowing the definition of ambition.

What is ambition?

It is a strong desire that is focused on achieving the proposed objectives, which may be personal, professional or economic.

Ambition is often related to the fervent desire to achieve wealth, fame and power, but it can involve any desire you have, such as living near the sea or having a successful business, among many other cases.

We can find numerous positive aspects of ambition, since people who have vehement desires to achieve their goals, focus on working and improving to achieve their dreams, managing to stand out from the rest.

Ambition and ethical and moral principles

Ambition can have different connotations depending on the environment where it is found and the personal criteria of those around him.

It is usually attributed to ambitious people negative characteristics related to the lack of values and principles that make them unscrupulous, capable of doing anything to achieve their goals.

But ambition is only the yearning or intense desire to achieve a goal, which can be a very appreciated quality in whoever possesses it. Now, if a person lacks morals and ethics and is also ambitious, the results can be disastrous, since we do not know what he would be capable of to achieve his goals.

According to the character of each person and his principles or lack of them, ambition can become something positive or negative.

For example, there are people who aim to be the center of attention and spend their lives trying to discredit or harm others.

Whereas, an ambitious leader with principles and values can be a great motivation for a company, where all objectives are focused on growth, continuous improvement and general welfare, thus representing part of the positive aspects of ambition.

Characteristics of ambitious people

Ambitious people have a series of aspects that differentiate them from the rest, among them, we have:

• Focusing their time and resources on improvements that allow them to achieve their goals.
• Being courageous and are not afraid to take on new challenges.
• Being self-critical.
• Dreaming big, and are clear that with hard work and effort they can achieve their goals.
• Being enthusiastic and eager to work.
• Become excellent leaders since they are able to motivate and guide others.
• Are good observers.
• Ability to identify opportunities.
• Their main competitor is themselves.
• Have a proactive attitude and repetitive habits.
• Being discreet, do not boast or compare.
• They look for allies to achieve their projects.
• Being not satisfied with what they have, they go for more.

All these characteristics represent positive aspects of ambition.

Positive aspects of being ambitious and tips on how to make the most of this quality

Among the positive aspects of ambition, it can be perceived as an intense desire to stand out from the common people or work teams, where the interest and the necessary actions to obtain improvements are constantly observed.

To make the most of this desire to progress and improve in the area of interest, it will be necessary to set short, medium and long term goals, and work to achieve them.

For example, a law student who is just starting his career, but wants to work in a well known law firm and become a renowned and prestigious lawyer and then set up his own firm. What can he do to materialize his dream?

The first thing will be to acquire all the knowledge of the career that will give you the tools to stand out, with effort and perseverance as a student and future lawyer, and then apply for a job as an intern or assistant in the firm you want, regardless of the fact that at the beginning its functions will be very simple. The interesting thing will be to join and learn as much as possible about the profession and the policies of the firm, to gain the respect and trust of your peers and bosses, in order to climb the ladder and demonstrate everything you have learned.

As this person is focused on continuous improvement, the next step, in the long term, would be to become independent by registering his own law firm, always remembering where he comes from, with whom he learned what he knows, that is, being a grateful person.

As can be seen from this point of view, ambition does not represent something negative, wanting to achieve success and professional recognition, even bringing a benefit to society, can not be taken as something bad.

In this case, ambition becomes the impulse that an individual needs to grow in his profession, obtain recognition, higher income, among others, therefore, it is one more argument within the positive aspects of ambition.

Negative aspects of being ambitious

Not all are positive aspects of ambition, in the case that ambition manifests itself in a person lacking values and principles, we would be witnessing a common example in which the individual does not mind taking whoever ahead to achieve their goals.

In other words, the ambitious person without values will not care about the welfare of those around him, but only about his own interests.

It may be the case that the person breaks the law just to satisfy his desires and achieve his goals, even if he has to pay a high price for his mistakes.

There are many examples of cases with negative ambition, such as, for example, the secretary with lust for power who gradually becomes involved with her boss in an intimate way and wants to become the wife of the owner of the company, so she dedicates herself to make life impossible for the wife until a separation of the couple is achieved, and she is promoted in every way.

Or an employee who is part of a work team and steals the ideas of one of his colleagues to stand out and be recognized by his bosses, until he climbs positions in the company, always with the help of his tricks.

Conclusions

It should be noted that ambition will depend on the values and principles of the person experiencing it.

Every person should know that every action generates a reaction and that in the long run acting in an improper way brings its consequences.

Being ambitious is a very important quality to progress in life, not to be conformist and also to help others to improve their life and conditions, so we can conclude that there are more positive aspects of ambition than negative ones.

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