Ambitious

Ambition is a word that consists of strength and power. A person without ambition or strive to succeed is like having a car without tires. Ambition is difficult to achieve. Even the word itself is difficult to define. I, on the other hand, will try to provide a crystal clear definition that may un-cloud any confusion and illuminate a more accurate description of what the truth behind the word 'ambition' withholds.

In the past, the word ambition began as a power hungry beast that slowly became the gentle will to achieve the ultimate goal that an individual sets for themselves to gain a brighter future. It was and can still be said to have been the one thing to carry someone through life and over hurdles that they are forced to overcome. Ambition began in the French language and was used throughout Roman times. For instance, ambition was considered to be compared to politics when Romans were working to gain power in government. Hence meaning, those with ambition would reach greatness and high ranks within society. The desire for advancement was very important to the Roman civilizations and was the only way to truly be seen as anything other than another face. But, the word originally originated from the Middle French word ambitione, meaning the determination for honor or the desire for popularity or fame. This was the main aspect to what the Romans wanted; the power and glory of being able to control some part of their society. On the contrary, the French used it as a term of going around other candidates to achieve glory. So as Romans saw ambition as something filled with glory and power, the French saw it as a popularity contest which only the most determined of people could achieve. This only represents the word ambition, can be misconstrued. Romans only showed that through greed and having it to be more about politics then self-made successes, ambition was all about how it was viewed.  

            Words originating in times long ago have meanings that have suffered from the constant changes and interpretations that result in modified definitions. Ambition, for example, originally was the desire for honor but is actually hardly ever used in its literal meaning when used in the English language. This occurrence has changed the meaning to the ability to break any restriction upon oneself and overstepping he or she’s own boundaries to discover what he or she can truly achieve. Continually, the newly formed definition that has been gradually recreated by the English language, is now the first to be thought of when ambition comes to mind. Words similar to ambition are words such as, motivation or aspiration, which also have similar definitions. Although ambition has a clear meaning in the mind of individuals, the meaning has been twisted overtime and no longer means the same as it used to. It could be said that one with strong work-ethic has an immense amount of ambition due to the fact that they desire success, others would see it as something completely different.

            During the research of the word ambition, it was made clear that words have different meanings depending on the insight and knowledge one’s mind contains. Due to the fact that ambition can still be seen as a need for success, it allows for the true origin of ambition to be revealed but, with others it is the drive to have a successful future. There is more than one side to words, each one has its own story to make it unique. Whether it was through education or having a strong work ethic, all need ambition throughout their lives. Although the more popular definition is the achievement or the successful side to having or obtaining ambition, being able to work it into everyday vocabulary would permit for using it as its original form of gaining glory. Gaining knowledge about all different aspects to the words apart of the English language is extremely important. By doing this the cliché and overused definitions of words are avoided and the abilitie to circumvent the misconstrued meanings becomes easier. So, if words are better understood in their original for, it creates knowledge, and knowledge is powerful.