In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir writes: “One is not born a woman: one becomes one.” Beyond the question of gender, this sentence expresses a simple idea: we are largely shaped by our education, our social environment and the expectations that surround us. For Beauvoir, identity is constructed. Applied to ambition, this idea becomes particularly illuminating.

We often think that ambition is a natural character trait: some people have it, others don't. In reality, it depends on the context in which we grow up. For example, some people hear from an early age: “You can succeed,” “Be bold,” “Aim high”... Others receive messages such as “Be reasonable,” “Don't take too many risks,” etc. Over time, these messages influence our perception of what is possible.

Ambition is therefore not just an inner driver. It is part of a social framework. Around us exist norms, often invisible, that define what seems acceptable, realistic, or legitimate. And these norms are never neutral: they vary according to gender, social background, culture, or family history. Where some feel empowered to try, others learn to restrain themselves.

Questioning one's ambitions

This leads to an essential question, directly inherited from Beauvoir: Is my ambition truly my own? Or does it reflect what I have been taught to desire—or to avoid?

For Beauvoir, being free means expanding the realm of possibilities. Ambition then becomes a way of moving toward what could be, rather than remaining confined to what has already been mapped out. And that means questioning the limits we impose on ourselves without always realizing it: Where do they come from? Are they appropriate to our current reality? Did we choose them, or did we simply inherit them?

From this perspective, ambition is neither an excess nor a flaw. It is the product of a personal and collective history: shaped by the role models we have observed, the encouragement we have received, but also the injunctions we have heard and the fears that have been passed on to us.

Freely choosing who you want to become

Rather than judging ourselves, Beauvoir invites us to ask ourselves: What have I learned to want or to avoid? What aspirations have I set aside out of caution or conformity? Which ones have I adopted without them really being my own? The point is not to become ambitious at all costs. Rather, it is about rediscovering a chosen ambition that is aligned with what we really want to build.

Ultimately, ambition is not a race nor a competition. It is a space of inner freedom where we decide what we want to become. And this is precisely what Beauvoir reminds us: we are not condemned to remain within the frameworks that have been handed down to us. We can question them, expand them, transform them.

Ambition then becomes an act of freedom.