Aspirations: Definition, Examples, & Insights

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Aspirations are important because they lead you towards a happy and successful life, whatever that may look like for you. They can also indicate what an individual or a society values most (Hart, 2016). For example, if you aspire to be a good parent, that means your family is important to you. If a society has aspirations of ending homelessness, that means it values and respects its citizens.

Reasons why aspirations are important:

• Shows an individual or society where its priorities are
• Can be a driver for positive individual life changes
• Can drive positive societal shifts and changes
• Promotes psychological health through goal-setting (Hart, 2016).

Figuring out what your aspirations are can inform what kind of goals you set and how you work towards those goals. Aspiration is the driving force that can help you achieve your greatest dreams.

Each individual person is unique, which means many of our aspirations will be unique as well. The following are examples of general aspirations. Feel free to use these ideas as building blocks and customize them to fit your life. For example, running a timed race is listed but I’m not much of a runner. I would modify that health aspiration for myself to being able to do 10 unassisted pull-ups–I’m still training toward that one.

Financial Aspirations​

• Making $100,000 a year.
• Saving money to buy a car.
• Saving money for a down payment for a house.
• Starting a savings fund to send your children to college.

Relationship Aspirations

• Having a strong, communicative relationship.
• Finding someone you love to spend your time with.
• Better interpersonal communication with family members and friends. 
• Being the best parent you can be.

Career or Job Aspirations

• Being a leader or mentor.
• Completing training to become a doctor or lawyer.
• Becoming a skilled tradesman like a carpenter or electrician.
• Earning a certification relevant to your job.

Health Aspirations

• Running a timed race like a 5K or half-marathon.
• Being able to hike in the mountains.
• Feeling vibrant and confident in your body.
• Eating clean with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Goals are the small targets you set along the path to your biggest dreams. Achieving your goals is a way to achieve your aspirations. Below are some examples of aspirations listed earlier and the goals you might set to achieve them.
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• Aspiration: Becoming a doctor. 
• Goals: Get a bachelor’s degree, study for the MCAT, get accepted into medical school, and graduate from medical school.

 

• Aspiration: Saving money to buy a car.
• Goals: Save $100 from every paycheck, give up one restaurant meal per week, and save all of your spare change.

 

• Aspiration: Writing a book.
• Goals: Practice daily writing, take writing courses, research, outline, and write.

Aspirations are usually large goals that take an extended period of time to achieve. Setting smaller goals along the way to your ultimate aspirations can help you achieve them with less frustration.

Have you ever seen a beautiful sunset or a work of art and felt an intense rush of feelings and emotions? That rush can be defined as inspiration–“the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.-c). Try and think back on your life to moments when you felt inspired. These moments might be good indicators of where to direct your aspirations.

Examples of inspiration creating aspirations:​

• A teenager witnesses a doctor save his mother’s life from breast cancer which inspires him to become an oncology nurse.
• An accountant goes on a life-changing trip to a national park. This creates a new aspiration of being a park ranger, and they change careers.
• Someone sees an inspiring video of someone experiencing homelessness who receives life-changing housing resources. This creates an aspiration to develop a non-profit.
• You see a painting in a museum that moves you to tears. This creates an aspiration to become a painter.

If you are still trying to figure out what your aspirations are, think or journal about the following questions. The answers can help lead you toward the things in life you hold most dear. Once you understand that, you can direct your time and energy toward setting and achieving your ultimate goals by defining your aspirations.

What are the three most important areas in your life?
Answers could include marriage, children, career, education, community service, financial security, or anything else important to you. 

What do you want to achieve in these areas of your life?
If you listed education, achieving a Ph.D. might be an aspiration. If you listed marriage, achieving better communication might be an aspiration. You can build aspirations from things you want to achieve or improve.

How can you achieve these aspirations?
Create small, achievable goals that will bring you closer to achieving your aspirations. Aspirations are meant to be big dreams that usually require much time and effort. Try not to get frustrated if achieving your aspirations feels like a large undertaking.

Sometimes working towards our aspirations can become difficult, especially when we experience obstacles along the way. If this happens to you, try not to give up. Instead, save these affirmations for a time you might need some extra encouragement. Positive self-affirmations can help boost you up and have a positive effect on your psychological well-being (Nelson et al., 2014). Try writing them over and over or saying them out loud to yourself in the mirror. 

• I am ambitious.
• I am inspired.
• I am capable of doing hard things.
• I work hard towards my goals and aspirations.
• I am capable of achieving my greatest goals and aspirations.

Quotes are a great tool to get some quick inspiration if you are feeling down. Consider the following aspirational quotes during times you may feel unmotivated or overwhelmed and they may help lift your spirits.

• “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”–Tony Robbins
• “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”–Robert F. Kennedy
• “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”–Kahlil Gibran
• “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.”–John Maxwell
• “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”–Abraham Lincoln
• “One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.”–Benjamin Disraeli
• “When aspirations are perceived to be achievable, ambition and drive can erase excuses.”–Lorii Myers
• “Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open.”– Pauline Kael
• “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community… Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”–Cesar Chavez

• Hart, C. S. (2016). How do aspirations matter? Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 17(3), 324–341.
• Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-a). Ambition definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
• Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-b). Aspiration definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
• Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-c). Inspiration definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
• Nelson, S. K., Fuller, J. A., Choi, I., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). Beyond self-protection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(8), 998–1011. ​