Know yourself, and be better

I've been thinking heavily today about the idea of self-betterment and progression in life. By no means do I want to be the type of person that steps on others to get ahead or looks down their nose at others, but is it so bad to take every good opportunity that you can to better yourself and have accomplishments in life? Sometimes I feel that my ambition, though not at the expense of others, is something that may negatively affect the views that some people may have of me. I'm very afraid that this will happen for some reason. I've always felt that humility is a great virtue and I try to embrace it as often as possible because I know that everything good comes from God and I am blessed well beyond what I deserve. But I also strongly believe that people need to be actively involved in their own lives. Faith in God's provision is key to living a Christian life and it is important to trust in the will of God, but just sitting by and waiting for something to drop in my lap just does not seem like something I am willing to do. I think that God presents opportunities to enrich the lives of his children so that they can, in turn, be a blessing to others. But if I or anyone else does not take a chance, put in the work, and grasp onto those opportunities, it gets wasted. Not only are we unable to help others, we feel bad about ourselves. I'm not trying to promote a certain way of life or say that what I'm doing is the only way to succeed, but I do know that having pride in what you do is important. It gives you confidence and self-esteem, which will enable you to do things that you may never have done before. I also believe that God gives us challenges which will lead us to become better people. I just feel that I can not sit idly by and hope that something will just magically happen and my life will automatically be better. Maybe some people think that its wrong to try and get ahead in life, but growing as a person is so important to me and if I don't do everything that I can to reach some kind of self-actualization, then I'm not being who I was meant to be. I need to know and understand myself, then be better. Not according to others standards, but to my own desires and those of God's.