Are you ambitious?

“On average, ambitious people attain higher levels of education and income, build more prestigious careers, and report higher overall levels of life satisfaction,” says Neel Burton, psychiatrist and author of Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions

Would you class yourself as an ambitious person? Do you strive to achieve your goals and dreams? Here’s a few ideas to help you along your way to being more ambitious in your career:

• Be positive and always believe in yourself. If you think positively about yourself then not only does it boost your confidence but it can also increase your problem solving skills in stressful situations. Only you can believe in yourself and push yourself towards achieving your goals – nobody else is going to do it for you!
• Be willing to take risks. Success will never be handed to you on a plate; you need to be prepared for the highs and lows and to put in the work. Throughout your career you might have to sometimes face stress or anxiety. It’s all about facing your fears and coming through the other side. If you have ambition then it will allow you to explore, experiment and discover.
• Set yourself short and long term goals and targets that can be measured. Your goals shouldn’t be so easy that you don’t have to push yourself to achieve them. Regularly assess yourself against your goals and redefine them if necessary. This should be an ongoing task to ensure you are achieving goals or adapting them if they aren’t achievable.
• Learn from your mistakes but don’t let them get in the way of your drive. Failure is only permanent if you stop trying. Stress is healthy in small amounts as it can help you refocus and can stimulate the brain. Always strive to better yourself and keep strong. We all make mistakes but they are a learning curve and will help you to develop your skills even further.
• Be prepared to put the time in. To be successful you need to invest quality time into your career. If you want to achieve your goals or dreams, you have to be willing to put the hard work into it too. It will be hard and it may take a while but with motivation and determination you can definitely achieve.
• Reward yourself for achievements. The sense of achievement can boost your self-confidence and make you feel more competent and motivated. You should be proud of your achievements. Take a step back and look at what you have done and give yourself a big pat on the back – you deserve it!

Having ambition is a fantastic trait to have – especially if you apply it to your career. It’s one of the key attributes that we look out for in our candidates. If you feel that you are not currently being ambitious in your current role, or are looking for some motivation and a new challenge get in touch with our recruitment team!