--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that \"ambition\" is a weird and…" description: "\"I think that \"ambition\" is a weird and often negatively used word.\" — Tania James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg" --- # I think that "ambition" is a weird and often negatively… ![“I think that "ambition" is a weird and often negatively used word.” quote by Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg) > “I think that "ambition" is a weird and often negatively used word.” [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “ambition” often carries negative connotations, suggesting selfish drive or overreach. **In simple terms:** Ambition is seen as a negative word. Key Takeaway Reconsider how you label personal drive. Themes ambition language perception Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - public speaking Key Concepts psychology social labeling Questions to Reflect On - How does your use of “ambition” affect motivation? - Can you reframe ambition positively? A Different Perspective Ambition can also be positive when tied to purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [If my ambition in Tottenham is only to win the Carabao Cup or FA Cup, with all the respect for that, I think my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauricio-pochettino/if-my-ambition-in-tottenham-is-only-to-win-the-carabao-cup-or-fa-cup/) [Mauricio Pochettino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauricio-pochettino/) > [I think ambition can be having something that you're good at and love to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/i-think-ambition-can-be-having-something-that-you-re-good-at-and-love/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [I used to think I had ambition... but now I'm not so sure. It may have been only discontent. They're easily confused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-field/i-used-to-think-i-had-ambition-but-now-i-m-not-so-sure-it-may-have/) [Rachel Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-field/) > [I think for myself the ambition is to become better and better, to get into a FIFA World XI and in the end, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-gnabry/i-think-for-myself-the-ambition-is-to-become-better-and-better-to-get/) [Serge Gnabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-gnabry/) > [Think not ambition wise, because 't is brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davenant/think-not-ambition-wise-because-t-is-brave/) [William Davenant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davenant/) > [I don't think ambition was ever my strong suit. I always wanted to be successful, because you want to be good at what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selma-blair/i-don-t-think-ambition-was-ever-my-strong-suit-i-always-wanted-to-be/) [Selma Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selma-blair/) > [“The more you think of what is right, the more you tend to make every action in your mind right. The more you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-d-larson/the-more-you-think-of-what-is-right-the-more-you-tend-to-make-every/) [Christian D. Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-d-larson/) > [People want to be special. I think ambition can take in a whole package of things, power or sexual excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/people-want-to-be-special-i-think-ambition-can-take-in-a-whole/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I would like to have insights into things like government, all those big ideas that you brought up that I simply don't have ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-would-like-to-have-insights-into-things-like-government-all-those/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I think ambition is a desire for recognition. People want to be special. I think ambition can take in a whole package of things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/i-think-ambition-is-a-desire-for-recognition-people-want-to-be/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I don't think that ambition should not be in the dictionary of entrepreneurs. But our ambition should be realistic. You have to realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mukesh-ambani/i-don-t-think-that-ambition-should-not-be-in-the-dictionary-of/) [Mukesh Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mukesh-ambani/) > [If you really think that ambition, power, lust, desire are not as applicable in the media as in politics or on Wall Street or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-willimon/if-you-really-think-that-ambition-power-lust-desire-are-not-as/) [Beau Willimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-willimon/) > [I think your ambition for something changes as you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/i-think-your-ambition-for-something-changes-as-you-go/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [Am I ambitious? I used to be afraid of that word but now I think ambition is a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/am-i-ambitious-i-used-to-be-afraid-of-that-word-but-now-i-think/) [Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/) ## More by Tania James > [They were two ruined souls doomed to wander their minds, if not the earth, trying to remember from whence they came.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/they-were-two-ruined-souls-doomed-to-wander-their-minds-if-not-the/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [I'd never written a book or a story that required meeting people, and that's not necessarily my best skill, even in English. I prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-d-never-written-a-book-or-a-story-that-required-meeting-people-and/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [I came to graduate school with a certain vocabulary about how to talk about other people's stories, but I couldn't understand how to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-came-to-graduate-school-with-a-certain-vocabulary-about-how-to-talk/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [When you work in film, you have to be pretty fluent in explaining your vision, especially when speaking to actors, and I found speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/when-you-work-in-film-you-have-to-be-pretty-fluent-in-explaining-your/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [“As she continues to answer questions about her employment, all these words mean little more to her now than I AM SOPHISTICATED, I AM…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/as-she-continues-to-answer-questions-about-her-employment-all-these/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [“How an open palm could meet her cheek with anything but wonder, he would never understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/how-an-open-palm-could-meet-her-cheek-with-anything-but-wonder-he/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [Sometimes sentiments were better left in song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/sometimes-sentiments-were-better-left-in-song/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) > [“These stories are important to me, not because they happen to be about South Asians, but because they’re circling around a certain strain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/these-stories-are-important-to-me-not-because-they-happen-to-be-about/) [Tania James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) [Explore all 9 Tania James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that \"ambition\" is a weird and often negatively used word.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tania James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-often-negatively-used-word/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-often-negatively-used-word/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/tania-james-44245_ambition_i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-oft_1961576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that \"ambition\" is a weird and often negatively used word.” — Tania James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tania James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that \"ambition\" is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-often-negatively-used-word/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-james/i-think-that-ambition-is-a-weird-and-often-negatively-used-word/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```