How aspirations change over time What are your life goals to achieve? What did you dream about as a child? Has that changed? Aspirations are the dreams we invent throughout our lives. As a child, becoming a firefighter, ballerina, or president might have been a career goal. But then we get old and get new responsibilities.
Our perspectives change, giving new things greater meaning. Aspirations are not quite a dream come true. They evolve as you grow and life throws some balls your way. Understanding how your long-term plans will change helps you realize that you’re not a failure if life takes a turn.
The 4 stages of striving
Life seems to go in phases and so do aspirations. As a rule, you may find yourself in any of these stages during your life.
Sincere optimism. This stage is more common in our youth when we don’t have the same fears and responsibilities as our older years. This phase is to identify your weaknesses and develop your knowledge and skills. You create a better chance for success when you know what you don’t know and work to grow in wisdom. Because we don’t know any better, we are free to dream and follow our dreams.
Secular reality. Life does happen and we are overwhelmed with responsibilities. We start jobs, buy houses and have families. This is part of life. Your aspirations will seem like they are dying at this stage, but they are not. Instead, they burden them and hide. You may find that you struggle to find work-life balance so that you can continue to work towards your dreams.
Renewed dream. Over time, our responsibilities ease or change, and we are ready to dream again. For some, it can lead to a midlife crisis. It’s easy to get distracted. But it’s time for all of us to take a fresh look at our dreams and how we can refocus and refresh our outlook. Often the result is a solid foundation and a renewed perspective on what we want to do with our lives.
Reorganization and new momentum. After renewing our aspirations and shifting as needed, we feel the urge to jump with a sense of purpose. We may feel young again, and others will notice a bounce in our step. Our fears subside as they did in our youth and momentum builds to realize our hopes and dreams.
Aspirations take a lifetime and you will go through many phases. Understanding these stages makes sense of what is happening and adjusts to achieving your dreams.
