Ep. 327 - The Doctor Is In Series - Healthy vs. Obsessive Ambition

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology. In today's episode, Chris and Dr. Abbie discuss the complexities of ambition, emphasizing its connection to identity and intrinsic motivation. They explore how ambition can be healthy or obsessive, influenced by personality traits and life experiences. Their conversation warns against destructive ambition, which can harm relationships and ethical standards, and stresses the importance of regularly redefining success to maintain a healthy balance. [ Nov 3, 2025] 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro 01:01 - Intro Links - Social-Engineer.com - - Offensive Security Vishing Services - - Offensive Security SMiShing Services - - Offensive Security Phishing Services - - Call Back Phishing - - Adversarial Simulation Services - - Social Engineering Risk Assessments - - Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - - CLUTCH - - innocentlivesfoundation.org - 02:35 - The Topic of the Day: Healthy vs. Obsessive Ambition 05:58 - Narcissism for Good 06:42 - Building Ambition 08:26 - Ambition the Destructor! 10:05 - Take the Long Road Home 15:18 - Development 17:02 - Social Obsession 19:02 - The Gift of Adversity 22:45 - From the Inside 26:35 - Dichotomies 29:02 - Redefining Success 31:27 - Growing Values 33:28 - Healthy or Obsessive??? 34:44 - Wrap Up 34:57 - Next Moth: Cognitive Dissonance 35:10 - Outro - - Find us online: - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd - Instagram: @DoctorAbbieofficial - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy References: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227 - 268. Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087 - 1101. Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2012). On the value of aiming high: The causes and consequences of ambition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(4), 758 - 775. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705 - 717. McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. Van Nostrand. Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Schulz, R. (2003). The importance of goal disengagement in adaptive self- regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 503 - 508.

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Ep. 327 - The Doctor Is In Series - Healthy vs. Obsessive Ambition is an episode from The Social-Engineer Podcast by Christopher Hadnagy.

This episode is 35:29 long.

This episode was published on Nov 3, 2025.

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