From ambition to aspiration, from acquiring to becoming.

From ambition to aspiration, from acquiring to becoming.
This is my topic for an All India Essay Competition. Though I have already submitted it, but still I would like to have some feedback.:)

Ambition, aspiration, acquiring, becoming. The four steps to success. Since childhood; almost all of us nurture ambitions for our life. Ambition is the foundation stone of this process. It leads to an aspiration which propels us to gain something with our efforts and abilities. We need a reason which motivates us to work harder and harder to attain the goal we set out for. But the path towards it is not as smooth and simple as it seems to be.

Ambition is the desire for personal achievement. It provides the motivation and determination necessary to give directions in life.Ambitious people seek to be the best in what they choose to do for attainment of power or superiority. Acquired power can be wielded in the name of a vague or clear ideal or multiple ideals. When ambition is used to seek a clear ideal, it develops a close relationship to extremism. William Arthur Word had said, "If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can be it."

We all have a dream, but the difference is how we realize our dream. Throughout human history, many examples can be found of people who were extremely ambitious, for better or worse. The notorious Greek Herostraus had the ambition to become famous by destroying the Temple of Artemis.
To be good at any point of life is certainly not an easy task to accomplish. One has to go through an immense amount of hardship before attaining one's goal. As we are now living in a world which gets more competitive day by day, its important to scrutinize our wishes from different perspectives before getting started.

Ambition and its predominant theme of acquisition is being touted as the new ideal of an increasingly materialistic world. Prescribed as an indispensable prerequisite for 'success', it has long erased the virtue of aspiration from the minds of our youth. There has been a radical shift of mentality, a huge change in outlook and mindset of people. People were, and still are ambitious but what has changed is the manner of achieving our dreams, achieving 'success'. Its a matter of great pity that aspiration is lacking in today's youth. In the past, people used to meticulously plan their path and worked really hard to carve a niche for themselves through forward thinking and also the correct manner. But today, the whole situation has reversed. People tend to get attracted towards the shortcut rather than going for hard work. They want the easiest way possible, even if it requires treading the illegal and illegitimate path, no matter who might get hurt or trampled in that process to achieve 'success'.
 ( an easy way eh!!! ;) )

the proverb 'People worship the rising sun' is apt for the current scenario. The person on top has the largest number of followers. The worst part is that none of the followers are concerned about the scene behind the curtain i.e. the path taken by the sun is immaterial. Even the one upon a time hard working yester generation is also getting sucked up into the centroid of this trend. A recent advertisement by a popular tea brand showcases this phenomenon in an adept manner. A father is shown re-assuring his son not to feel low as he will get him admitted in an engineering college using money power. In a way, the elder is instilling in his ward that bribery and corruption can solve problems, and help attain 'success' without any toil. Alas! but this is situation world around today. Schools, colleges: engineering, medical - you name it, we have a shortcut for it. No wonder, bridges keep falling every now and then.

Aspiration plays a key role in development and molding of character as well as the personality. Characterized by a subtle yet firm will to achieve or become, aspiration advocates the pursuit of excellence as opposed to 'success'. Life is a race, where nobody remembers the person who comes second. But then if you are excellent, success will automatically follow us.

Ambition and aspiration can be seen as diametrically opposite manifestation of the soul's need to evolve. both when combined truly defines the human spirit. But the road taken no longer matters. At the end of the day, what matters is the kind of money and status we acquired, rather than how we acquired it.