Ralph Waldo Emerson's Greatest Accomplishments

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Famous author Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." I agree with Emerson because there is always room to improve and expand, even if the task has been mastered or the goal has been reached. So many people today have lost their drive. Very few people are trying to go beyond what is required; we are just striving for average, not greatness. Once we accomplish something, we seem to throw it behind us, and let it become just another memory. Instead of doing that, I feel that we should continue to expand on our accomplishments. For example, as a child, we have big dreams; as we grow, those dreams change and transform into something more realistic. …show more content…
Currently, we are working towards bigger tasks, like curing cancer and using three dimensional printers to make functioning body parts for those who need them, like amputees. Scientists and doctors are taking their prior knowledge and expanding upon it to make our world better. The counterargument against my opinion would be others believing that once a goal has been accomplished, that it is okay to throw it behind you and leave it there. I do not think we should allow ourselves to stop trying to be better. As another example, most runners are always striving for a better time when competing in marathons or races. Even if they obtain first place, they keep training and pushing themselves to the limit, just to knock off a few seconds. That shows that even if you are good at something, there is still room to be better. In conclusion, I think Emerson's quote had truth in it. You cannot put a seedling in a plastic bag and expect it to grow into a tree, can you? If we do not give ourselves the needed room to expand, we will not grow. Growth and expansion are necessary to keep up with the ever changing world around us. We should realize how important it is to strive for greatness, and to look beyond the horizon. There is much more behind

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