Definition of ambition - What it is, Meaning and Concept

The dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) defines the ambition as the desire to obtain power , wealth or fame .The term comes from the Latin ambitĭo and can be used in a positive or negative way.

Ambition is considered healthy when promotes action and project development .The person who is ambitious tries to achieve something that he currently does not have.The ambitious subject, therefore, wishes to improve, grow or progress.Ambition works in these cases as an engine that invites abandonment of conformity and mediocrity.

There must be a limit, however, so that this ambition does not become harmful or dangerous.the desire is so strong that the person is willing to violate the ethical or legal norms to realize it, the ambition becomes risky since it can harm the person or third parties.

There are many cases throughout history that come to make clear how the ambition taken to its maximum extent brings with it all kinds of disasters and calamities.If, for example, we could highlight Napoleon Bonaparte, who was emperor from France that had such ambition to become the owner and lord of Europe that he carried out all kinds of offensives in order to colonize other nations.

The result of his actions was that there came a time when he had more enemies than allies, thus leading to a situation in which his country was severely attacked and in which he found himself in need of having to abdicate.But even there is more, in the end he ended his days banished on the island of Santa Elena, where he died.

In the same way, we cannot ignore the figure of the Greek shepherd Erostrato either.His ambition led him to want to become one of the key personalities of the moment, a recognized and famous man throughout the world.had to do it was carrying out the fire, in the year 356 BC, the famous Temple of Artemis, which was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

That desire for notoriety and to do something that supposed that the whole planet knew him, supposed that said pastor was tortured until he confessed his action.Fruit of it today exists the term erostratism, which is used to refer to those people who have the mania of committing vandal acts to achieve fame.

For example: “I always had the ambition to play football professionally and luckily I was able to fulfill my dream when I was hired by the team of my town for an interprovincial tour” , “Filling stadiums with my rock band is my biggest ambition” , “That night I had won a lot of money in roulette and I could have retired happily: however, the ambition could do more and kept betting until I left with nothing in your pockets ”.

It is generally considered that the healthiest state for a person is one where ambition acts as a trigger for actions, but within the limits of coherence and respect.