Aspiration refers to the hope or ambition to achieve something. Usually, aspirations are tied to some specific goal. For example, one can aspire to become a doctor or a teacher. It is something that provides us an inner push to strive to achieve the goal. Aspirations give us a sense of direction and a sense of hope for a better future. Individuals may greatly vary on their levels and types of aspirations. Some individuals have realistic and achievable aspirations, whereas, others have unrealistic aspirations. Some people have materialistic aspirations while others may have spiritual aspirations. We will explore various aspirations, how they impact us, and how to know what our aspirations are.
Types of Aspirations
Individuals may have different types of aspirations based on their stage of life, their abilities and education, their peer group, or their social circle. There may be different types of aspirations based on the different domains or aspects of one’s life. For instance, one may aspire to be a doctor as a career choice, a good mother as a personal choice, and an altruistic person in their social sphere. Based on this, it can be said that aspirations are predominantly of three types:
- Personal Aspirations: These refer to the specific personal development milestones one wishes to achieve. For instance, an individual may aspire to cook well, dance well, meditate, take trips, write a journal, etc. They mostly satisfy one’s personal preferences. They are highly governed by the culture in which one is born and raised.
- Career Aspirations: These refer to the career or job-oriented milestones one wishes to achieve. For instance, one may wish to be an air hostess and therefore attend air hostess training courses after school or college classes. These drive a person’s success in the professional sphere. Having high and optimistic carrer aspirations is a strong indicator of future professional success.
- Social Aspirations: These refer to the way in which one wants to be socially perceived. Desire for power, status, material belongings are all indicators of one’s social aspirations. These are improtant as they help project our image.
How do aspirations impact us?
Broadly speaking, aspirations are good for us. However, there may be times in our lives when aspiring for more or aspiring for things that are beyond our means leads to unhappiness. Therefore, it is crucial for us to aspire for the optimum things. Let us consider an example. A student of class 12 scores very low marks in Mathematics consistently throughout his school life. However, owing to the fact that everyone in the boy’s family is an engineer, he too aspires to be one. Is this aspiration affecting this adolescent positively? The answer is NO.
Let us now consider another example. A college student has to take up a job as a waitress at a local restaurant due to financial problems at home. She works for 8 hours and then attends night college because she aspires to be a teacher in the future. Is this aspiration affecting this girl positively? The answer is YES.
Not having an aspiration leads to a sense of directionlessness in life. We become like a rudderless ship, sailing all over the ocean, not knowing what our next step is or what makes us happy. Therefore, having aspirations is good. However, they should not be beyond our means or too unrealistic in nature.
Signs of Aspiration
How do we know if we have aspirations in life? Look at the following list and decide:
- Actively planning for the future
- Feeling positive emotions when attaining goals
- Wishful thinking
- Working hard for future goals
- Being able to define what we want to be in the next 5 years
- Having a long-term orientation
- Not being too upset over mistakes and failures
- Enjoying work
- Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses
How to find your aspiration?
It may be difficult for some people to find their aspirations. However, there are certain techniques that can facilitate the process of self-discovery. Here are a few of them:
- Self-Introspection: No amount of outside help can make us discover ourselves more than self-introspection. We really need to spend some time thinking about ourselves. What gives us joy? What is something tha we would not mind doing everyday for the rest of our lives? Answering all these questions will help us discover our aspiration.
- Professional Help: Many times, we may feel lost because of some persistent mental health condition. We may experience burnout, trauma, depression and other factors which make us feel blue. Speaking to a professional will help in overcoming these obstabcles and leading and more meaningful and joyous life.
- Don’t push yourself too hard: Sometimes it is alright to not know and let things unfold gradually. It is important to not judge ourselves too hard. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Giving ourselves time and not doing something just because everyone else is doing it is an important part of self-discovery.
Conclusion
Aspirations are important for us to be successful in life. However, they should be congruent with our life context. Additionally, it is alright if we are not aware of our aspirations or even if we do not have one. Hard work and persistence are the actual keys to achieving our goals and leading happy lives.