Where does ambition come from?

One part of ambition is having an important unmet need. A person who was raised in a house where financial resources were very low is more likely to become ambitious when it comes to money.

Dissatisfaction with one’s life can lead to ambition. A person who doesn’t like where he stands in life might become ambitious in order to change that.

Ambition can’t happen without courage. A person who has an unmet need but is not brave enough to pursue it might not become ambitious.

Youngest children usually become very ambitious as they find themselves surrounded by more capable siblings and this leads them to strive more to catch up with them.

Ambition can result from feelings of inferiority. If a person feels inferior to others, he might become ambitious to fill the perceived gap.

The fact that a person always compares himself to others can feed his ambition and increase his desire to become more successful. (See How peer pressure may influence an individual?)

As social networks allow people to know more details about the lives of others, it led to increased ambition among ambitious people.

The desire to prove oneself worthy can fuel ambition. This is why some of the very successful people in life were adopted. The fact that the child sometimes wants to prove to the world and his original parents that he is worthy can make him much more ambitious.

A person with a bigger Ego is more likely to be more ambitious than a person who doesn’t have a similar ego provided that everything else is the same.

People who are confident in their ability to reach their goals and who believe that they can get things done are more likely to become ambitious. Even if a person has an important need, his ambition can give it importance if he lacks the needed confidence.

Rejection, humiliation and disapproval of a person can fuel his desire to prove them wrong. A person who got rejected many times might become ambitious to prove those who rejected him wrong. This usually happens with people who have a high competitive spirit.

A teen who thinks that being popular is the only thing that makes him worthy might not study well or care about exams but might do his best to be popular among his friends. The more a person cares about a certain life area, the more likely he is to become ambitious about it.

Men are generally more competitive than women. This competitiveness can sometimes make a man more ambitious. While many women are ambitious as much as men, some of them prefer to avoid being competitive not to get involved in any conflicts.

In order for a person to act upon his ambition, he needs to believe that he can reach his goals. Optimism can make goals seem more attainable and thus can make a person more ambitious. (See Why are some people very optimistic?)