Usually, ambition is understood as purposefulness, a phenomenal knowledge of one’s and other’s strengths and weaknesses, and the ability to play on other people's interests. In this regard, an ambitious person can carry both a positive charge, achieving his goals, and a negative associated with neglect of the feelings and aspirations of other people.
In principle, answering the question: "Ambition - what is it?" - we can say with confidence that we are dealing with a hypertrophied perception of our own “I”. If a person is confident in his own abilities and his actions are rational, then ambitiousness can become his moral and ethical decoration. And, on the contrary, if it is full of swagger and excessive pettiness, then it gradually turns into a cynic for whom the opinions of others and the interests of others are nothing compared to his personal perception of the world where he lives.
On the other hand, each culture in its own way answers the question: "Ambition - what is it?" For some peoples it is a question of rationalizing their actions, as in the Anglo-Saxon system of values. For others, the ability to form their position in such a way as to achieve maximum results in a particular field of activity, mainly in the economy. This approach is more common in North American states.
It is interesting that Europe practically does not use the word “values”, that it does not have a fundamental meaning for it. Yes, the continent recognizes its ambitions as a moral quality, but it all comes down to the observance of personal rights and the rights of “others”. In case of violation of such, the attitude to the "ambitious" person can be quite tough and even antisocial. According to this logic, ambition should help, and not impede the achievement of the common good.
For Russians, the answer to the question “ambition - what is it” is also ambiguous. On the one hand, an ambitious person is respected, especially if he has managed to achieve certain goals with his own work. In other words, professional ambitiousness is appreciated. This has nothing to do with business qualities. Big ambitions in the economy, politics, business are clearly not welcome, and therefore are perceived exclusively in negative tones, up to contempt.
However, ambitions, the significance of which cannot be determined purely from a scientific point of view, can also be considered as a criterion of psychological health. It is clear that in Western society, where all the basic conditions for an individual start are created, high self-esteem and a thirst for a specific result are welcomed and encouraged. In Russian, and generally post-Soviet conditions, the situation is somewhat different. A successful person is always the subject of envy, if not hatred. The rich in our country do not like. It doesn’t matter if there is ambition, what it is. But they measure the value of personal claims with their own growth. And most often it happens that the goals set are unattainable simply because others do not want someone to stand out from the crowd. Then healthy ambitions simply transform into loneliness and social apathy.
