Summary
Calvin Correli discusses the negative and harmful effects of ambition in his article "Why Ambition is Bad". Even though most Americans view ambition as a good thing because it drives them towards success, it is actually not beneficial at all and there is nothing good that comes from it. Ambition causes people to only look towards the future, meaning they view aspects of their lives as mistaken and believe the world they currently live in is flawed and not as good as it could be. Even though ambition may get into your "dream college" or get you your "dream job, it is not going to dramatically improve your life. Since you're always looking towards the future and are always to constantly working to achieve your goals, you never have time to focus on those around you or enjoy life the way it was meant to be. Basically, life isn't about trying to please others, making a ton of money, being well-respected, or proving yourself. Life is about having fun, living for the now, and enjoying all the moments with friends and family.
Opinion
I completely agree with all of Calvin's statements and ideas about ambition. Life shouldn't be one big board where you're trying to slide every single pawn on the spaces that help you succeed or get ahead. I believe life should be more "seize the day" ("carpe diem" in Latin), than waste the day away by performing meaningless tasks or assignments just to work your way up to another step on the ladder of success. What's the point of being ambitious in the first place? All it does is completely divert your attention and focus to the future. Once you get done doing something to improve your future, you just move on to something else that will improve your future, and so on. But once you get to the summit of the Mountain of Achievement, what else do you have to life for? You will have already wasted a great part of your life away just to get into a position of prestige and honor. But this position will not determine your character, actions, or morality and will do absolutely nothing for you in the eyes of God. The purpose of life is not to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, a famous racecar driver, or even a singer whose songs top the charts every week. The true meaning of life is to love others, live as an image of God, and to treat others the same way which you would want to be treated. Making tons of money is nowhere near as important as making our world a better place. Ambition simply tries to change your future, even though it does nothing to improve the world around you or focus on what you have currently,because you never know when your blessings in life may be gone.
I like the point you made that ambition can ruin a person by causing someone to only think about where they are going, but never to really take time to appreciate what they have in the present time of their life.
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