Is It Healthy Ambition or Just Plain Vanity?

Key points

Some normally healthy qualities can become excessive or block out concern for others.

Goal-setting, for example, is a healthy behavior, unless it obscures regard for others.

Making a strong romantic connection should not require adopting all the partner's likes and dislikes.

Healthy individuals allow friends and partners to share the stage.

It's good to stand up for yourself, be assertive , and set limits with others, right? It’s good to search for love and want to be adored, right? But when does self-focus and desire for connection turn into something pathological—specifically, pathological narcissism? These signs can offer clues.

1. High standards and goals versus preoccupation with personal goals.

It is a good thing to set goals and develop strategies to reach them