In our constant drive to achieve goals, execute and complete tasks, and develop strategies, we lose sight of our underlying passions and true interests. We’re distracted by the day-to-day hustle. We rarely stop to ask, “What do I really want?” and “Am I on a path that will allow me to be my authentic self?”.

Think back to when you were a child. Maybe you wanted to be a firefighter, astronaut, artist, professional athlete, President. You aspired to reach those dreams without hesitation or self-doubt, always believing it was possible. You probably had no idea how to reach your dreams, but you could imagine yourself there. That is the power of aspirations.

Aspirations are strong, powerful, desires, longings or hopes for achieving something high and great. It is fueled by our passions and interests. They are bigger, often broader, and less defined than goals, though goals help get you to what you aspire to.

Many of us have privately cherished our aspirations for a very long time. Practicality, obligations, image, reputation and the other distractions and hurdles that are thrown at us, or we create ourselves, prevent us from making our aspirations come to life. We may have forgotten some of the wonders we once imagined and often take on obligations that distance us from our dreams.

Maybe your childhood passions no longer excite you. That does not mean you can’t, or shouldn’t, bring your adult version to fruition.

Achieving what we aspire to requires us to leave room for different outcomes and results. It involves risk tolerance (something many people find hard and uncomfortable), Understanding risk or tolerating it is one of the amazing gifts and powers of the aspiration achievement process. The ability to accept the outcome positions us to experience a result better and/or different than we imagined.

How do we bring back the power of aspirations from the past, adapt them to the present, get in touch with what is new or possible, and become motivated to make it happen?

Here are some steps:

1. Take the time to reflect on those interests and passions you had as a child. How might they translate and fit into your current life?
2. Allow yourself to dream. What if … you hit the lottery, met that perfect mate, were offered a transfer to a foreign land, able to work fewer hours at your day job, given an opportunity you did not expect, ad infinitum. Silence that critical voice and take an “anything is possible” mindset. What ideas pop up first? What lingers?
3. Keep a journal or diary of your thoughts. Jot down ideas that seem to come out of nowhere or those that haunt you. Return to them on a regular basis. Monitor the emotions that bubble up when thinking about what could be.
4. Look and listen to the aspirations of others:
   • Own your own business.
   • Enter and continue a happy marriage.
   • Take a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
   • Be the first in your family to graduate from college or earn an advanced degree.
   • Advance a hobby to master level.
   • Reach the pinnacle in your career.
   • Become financially secure.
   • Engage in the Arts.
   • Perform work that has true meaning to you and others.
   • Give back in a big way.
   • Advocate for change and see the needle move.
   • Run for office.
   • Raise llamas.
   • Achieve peak health.
   • See your children become happy, productive adults.

     These are but a few.

5. Lay out a test plan once things start to become a bit clearer and you have edited your ideas down to their essence. Push aside the reasons this cannot happen and take on a “anything is possible” attitude. You will be amazed how clear your aspiration becomes.
6. Get closer. Read, visit, talk with people who have made the journey. Copy what they have done. Then try being a contrarian and do the opposite to what others suggest. Keep searching for your authentic self.
7. Admit there may be setbacks, sacrifices, or even failures. Embrace them as an inevitable, possibly helpful, bump in the road. Yes, it might take you more time than planned, cost or lose you money, not get you there as fast as you would like, or it just might not be right. You work around all these obstacles to get what you really aspire to, not just want.

Side Note

“What about my current job/career aspirations?”, you ask.

Aspirations are not easily recognized and are rarely discussed in the workplace. It does not mean you should not or cannot have them. When was the last time your boss asked you what you really wanted out of your career? Maybe never. When did you last ask yourself what you wanted?

Aspirations are explored in job interviews. In that situation the questions are designed to determine if there is a match with the organization’s core values and goals, staff, how you manage people, and what your vision for the future looks like. The interviewer is digging to find if your aspirations are relevant to their view of success. It is your job to demonstrate that the knowledge and skills you have acquired and the direction you want to take, is consistent with the company’s. This is not the time to tell an investment banker you really want to play the clarinet at Carnegie Hall or live on a llama farm in Peru. You are expected to say you want to rise to a higher level, so you can share what you know with others and bring rewards to all. It helps if this in fact is your aspiration.

Tapping into the power of past aspirations, and encouraging new ones to show themselves, brings another dimension to your personal and work life. The process can be exciting and rewarding.

What do you want to be when you grow up?