sense of achievement oriented behavior I had a previous question on the need to feel proud of ourselves. I was neutrally observing my thoughts and feelings when I was feeling proud of myself or feeling ashamed of myself. This led to a discovery in me that it was because of the desire to achieve. I want to achieve God's grace, achieve a social status, achieve success in my career, achieve happiness and wisdom through meditation, achieve others approval and appreciation, achieve popularity and so on. I think 24/7 my thoughts and judgements are all about the need to achieve something. Is this okay?

If I get detached from this achievement desire, what will it lead to? And how can we overcome this achievement oriented obsession?
The Buddha taught there are two kinds of desire: 

(1) Ignorant desire (tanha): which seeks unwholesome &amp; harmful things;

(2) Wise desire (samma sankappa; chanda iddhipada): which seeks wholesome &amp; beneficial things. 

The Buddha praised worldly achievements such as having a good reputation, good friends and vocational skill &amp; learning. Refer to Maha-mangala Sutta &amp; Sigalovada Sutta.

The Buddha taught you will succeed at what you want to achieve if you have four qualities, which are: (1) love &amp; devotion (chanda); (2) energy &amp; persistence (viriya); (3) mental focus (citta); &amp; (4) analytical investigation (vimansa).  


  One who desires progress and success in life, be it in the field of
  education, occupation or livelihood, is advised to abide by the
  following principles:
  
  A. The principles of growth: to practice according to the teachings
  that guide life to prosperity and eminence known as the four cakka
  (the conditions likened to the four wheels that carry a vehicle to its
  destination):
  
  Patirupadesavasa: choosing a suitable environment; to choose a
  suitable location in which to live, study or work, where there are
  people and an environment conducive to learning and betterment in
  life, to the pursuit of the truth, virtue and knowledge, and the
  generation of goodness and prosperity.
  
  Sappurisupassaya: associating with good people; to seek association or
  alliance with people who are learned and virtuous and who will support
  one's pursuit of the truth, virtue and knowledge, and one's
  advancement and growth in a rightful way.
  
  Attasammapanidhi: establishing oneself rightly; to establish oneself
  firmly in virtue and a right way of life; to establish a clear and
  virtuous goal for one's life and work, and set oneself resolutely and
  firmly on the right path to that goal, not wavering or being
  negligent.
  
  Pubbekatapunnata: having a good "capital foundation"; one portion of
  this capital foundation comprises innate qualities such as
  intelligence, aptitude and a healthy body; the other is, on the basis
  of that foundation, knowing how to rectify or improve oneself, to seek
  further knowledge, to strengthen good qualities and to train oneself
  in preparation for when these qualities are needed, to be ready to
  welcome success, to bring about welfare and happiness and to advance
  to even greater heights.
  
  (A.II.32)
  
  B. The principles of success: practicing according to the four
  conditions that lead to the success of any undertaking, known as the
  iddhipada (pathways to success):
  
  Chanda: having a heart of zeal; to be keen to do something, and to do
  it for the love of it; to wish to bring an activity or task to its
  optimum fruition, not simply doing it to get it out of the way or
  merely for reward or material gain.
  
  Viriya: doing with effort; to be diligent and apply oneself to a task
  with effort, fortitude, patience and perseverance, not abandoning it
  or becoming discouraged, but striving ever onward until success is
  attained.
  
  Citta: committing oneself to the task; to establish one's attention on
  the task in hand and do it thoughtfully, not allowing the mind to
  wander; to apply one's thought to the matter regularly and
  consistently and do the task or action devotedly.
  
  Vimamsa: using wise investigation; to diligently apply wise reflection
  to examine cause and effect within what one is doing and to reflect
  on, for example, its pros and cons, gains and shortcomings or
  obstructions. This can be achieved by experimenting, planning and
  evaluating results, and devising solutions and improvements in order
  to manage and carry out the activity in hand so as to achieve better
  results.
  
  When applied to the work situation, for example, these four conditions
  may, in short, be remembered as love of work, tenacity, dedication and
  circumspection.
  
  http://www.mahidol.ac.th/budsir/Part2_2.htm#9