That moment when you want a promotion, a higher grade, a bigger house, or to be recognized as the best in your field. That wanting is ambition. It is not bad. In fact, without it, nothing moves.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, ambition at first empowers him. It gives him courage, focus, and confidence. The problem is that he has no brakes. And ambition without brakes doesn't just crash the driver — it crashes everyone around him (Shakespeare, 1606/2007).
1. The Good Side: How Ambition Empowers Us
Ambition gives you courage to dream bigger than your current position.
When we first meet Macbeth, he is already a brave general, Thane of Glamis. Then the witches say he will be "King hereafter" (Shakespeare, 1606/2007, Act 1, sc. 3, line 50). Suddenly, his mind expands. He is no longer just a soldier — he can be a king.
This is the pro of ambition. We see it in real life:
A call center agent working night shifts who studies coding on weekends because she wants to be a software engineer.
A student who dreams of becoming a civil engineer despite financial problems.
Ambition pushes Macbeth to write a letter to Lady Macbeth — to tell someone, "This is what I want to become." Lady Macbeth even prays to be filled "from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty" (Act 1, sc. 5, lines 41-42) just to help her husband achieve it. Shared ambition makes the couple act boldly.
And for a moment, it works. Macbeth becomes king (Act 2, sc. 4). The goal is realized. If the story ended there, ambition would be a hero.
But Shakespeare doesn't end it there — because life doesn't either.
2. The Turning Point: When Ambition Becomes Unmanaged
This is what we call "mismanaged" ambition, and Shakespeare shows it perfectly.
The second Macbeth kills King Duncan to get the throne, his empowerment cracks. He says his mind is "full of scorpions" (Act 3, sc. 2, line 36). He cannot sleep. Why? Because unmanaged ambition has two possible endings, and both are bad:
Ending A: It is realized, but others suffer.
This is Macbeth's path. He gets the crown, but to keep it he must kill his best friend Banquo because the witches said Banquo would be "father to kings" (Act 1, sc. 3, line 67). He realizes he has given his "eternal jewel" to the enemy just to make them kings (Act 3, sc. 1, line 68).
Real-life examples of this:
Corruption: A politician who wants to build a legacy project so badly that he overprices it by 200%. He gets the project — his ambition is realized — but taxpayers suffer, and the poorest lose classrooms and hospitals.
At the Workplace: A manager who wants a promotion and steals his teammate's idea. He gets promoted, but his team loses trust and resigns.
In a Family: A parent who wants their child to be top of the class at all costs, so they pressure and shame the child daily. The medal is achieved, but the child suffers anxiety.
Ending B: It is not realized at all, because you self-destruct. When ambition turns into paranoia, you make stupid decisions that destroy you. Macbeth visits the witches again for false confidence. They tell him no man "of woman born Shall harm Macbeth" and he will be safe "till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane" (Act 4, sc. 1, lines 80 and 93).
Feeling invincible, he murders Macduff's innocent wife and children. This is no longer strategy. This is pure greed and fear. From that moment, no general will follow him faithfully. He has lost the moral strength to lead.
The real-life example od this is when a student who cheats to get high grades for an abroad scholarship. He is caught. The ambition is not realized, and his future is ruined.
3. The Lesson: True Empowerment Requires Control
Macbeth's story is not telling us "Don't dream." It is telling us "Dream, but learn to harness it."
Pros of Managed Ambition:
Focus — You know where you are going.
Resilience — You survive failure.
Growth — You inspire others while you rise.
Cons of Mismanaged Ambition:
Paranoia — You see everyone as a threat.
Isolation — You lose friends, sleep, and peace of mind.
Corruption — You believe the end justifies any means.
True empowerment is not just achieving wealth, power, and fame — it is having the moral strength to handle the power after you get it.
Macbeth had the first part. He lacked the second. That's why a story that starts with a brave soldier on a battlefield ends with a lonely man hearing that Birnam Wood is really coming, and realizing his ambition built a throne with no one left to sit beside him.
This part of Macbeth's story is making me ask myself. Is my ambition building a longer table where others can also eat, or is it building a higher chair where only I can sit?
Shakespeare, W. (2007). Macbeth (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). Folger Shakespeare Library. (Original work published 1606)
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