Healthy aspirations require a balance between ambition and attachment. It is important to set clear and consistent goals to manifest your intentions and desires into the Universe. However, it is also important not to become too attached to the intended outcome of your aspirations.
Detachment is a central concept in Zen Buddhist philosophy. One of the most important technical terms for detachment in Buddhist philosophy is “wú niàn,” which literally means “no thought.” This does not signify the literal absence of thought but the state of being “unstained” (bù rán) by thought.
The Bhagavad Gita is also wonderfully explicit on this point. Krishna tells Arjuna that acting with detachment means doing the right thing for its own sake because it needs to be done without worrying about success or failure. Detachment is rarely something we achieve once and for all. It is the moment-by-moment, day-by-day process of accepting reality as it presents itself; by doing our best to align our actions with what we think is right and surrendering attachment to the outcome.