Why ambition is bad?

Ambition itself is not a bad trait to have. Ambition can help people achieve great things and lead to some of the more innovative and creative solutions to the world’s problems. However, too much ambition or the wrong type of ambition can have both internal/personal consequences and external consequences. If someone’s ambition reaches a certain point, they might implement any means necessary to achieve their goals and, thus, harm others or themselves along the way.

When one is tapping into their ambition to obtain or achieve certain goals, one needs to be intentional about analyzing what the key underlying desires are driving a person. Will someone be willing to violate other’s boundaries or undermine another person to get what they want? Do they have an attitude of “whatever it takes?” Where does that attitude come from? Is achieving these goals strictly for the individual’s betterment, or are there other factors, such as a family driving the person? All of these questions could contain very critical answers as to whether or not someone is even aware of the possible external consequences that high ambition could cause.

Another concept that relates to this is that of “success.” Success can be a very subjective concept because it can be individually defined by the person seeking it. Sometimes, success is very rigidly defined and is only perceived as “achieved” if all of the goals set for themselves have been accomplished. This is very typical when people have what is referred to as “extrinsic ambition” (goals and desires focused on external rewards). Someone could perceive their success as not being achieved unless or until these external rewards are obtained.

So, ambition, at its core, is not necessarily bad. However, ambition can turn into a negative attribute under different circumstances. Suppose someone has a high level of ambition. In that case, it can create a “blind spot” for a person who does not recognize (or even care) if they have to hurt others to achieve their own goals. Ambition can transform into a negative or potentially sinister attribute. Additionally, if someone is not flexible or resilient in their definition of “success,” then ambition can create many internal issues, such as a person feeling as though they are a failure.