The Purposes in Your Life – Purposes Vs Aspirations

Understanding the difference between purposes and aspirations.

Most of the people who make lethal mistakes in their lives do so because they confuse themselves between two very important aspects that govern their lives – their purposes and their aspirations. Since we are trying to see how to add more value to your life, it becomes very important to understand the difference that lies between these two. Let us see how purposes and aspirations differ from each other and why it is crucial to understand this difference.

Imagine that you want to become an actor. Now, that is called as your aspiration. You aspire to become an actor, to see yourself on the cinema screen, on the billboards, etc. When you aspire to become something, you also aspire for all the baggage that comes along with it. Aspirations are like a perfume that spreads in various directions. They don't have a fixed focus and most times, they are abstract. Like, you may want to become an actor, but you don't have any preferences about what kind of actor you would want to become. You don't mind if you become an actor in action flicks or in romances or even on television sitcoms or on Broadway. The only thing you aspire for is to become an actor, but you don't have any preferences there.

Now, purposes are vastly different. Unlike aspirations, they aren't vague. They are concrete. When a person has a purpose in mind, there is something definite in their mind. They are actually doing something in the direction of achievement. Like, you take up an acting course because you want to become an actor. Now there you have a purpose. You aren't just shooting in the dark. You are doing something so that you can achieve what you dream about.

We have spoken about purpose-driven and action-driven lives before. So we know that action is even more superior to purpose. So, when you take up the course, you have to go right ahead and follow it through. You have to practice, you have to rehearse and you have to mold yourself so that you become the actor you want to become. When you just dream about doing something, you lead an aspiration-driven life.

When you decide to take steps in order to fulfill your dreams, you lead a purpose-driven life. When you actually act on those steps so that you can fulfill your dreams one day, you lead an action-driven life. It is not difficult to understand which kind of life is the most enriched in quality.

“The first step of converting your aspirations into purposes involves converting them into plans and strategies.”

Turning Aspirations into Purposes – Setting Milestones

Purposes are the next step of aspirations. But they aren't the next automatic step. They are a step that comes only after you begin working in that direction. You have to start working in order to convert your purposes into aspirations. Actually, this is the beginning of your action-driven life, but you should know that you still have to go a long way ahead.

The best way you can turn your aspirations into purposes is by setting milestones for yourself. You cannot achieve what you dream about in short notice. Most people make the biggest mistake of their lives here. They dream, but then they decide that their dreams are too fantastic and never take any steps in the direction of their fulfillment. That isn‟t how an action-driven life works at all. Why, that's not even a purpose-driven life!

If you just have an aspiration and never set purposes to veer it toward fulfillment, then your aspiration becomes totally meaningless. You don't want to let that happen. Whatever you want to achieve, you can do it. Prep yourself into thinking that way first. Then, sit down and work out those milestones. Prepare a blueprint for yourself. Put it into raw figures. Mention by what year you will accomplish what. It might take a few years, but when it is a life's aspiration, the time period doesn't matter. What's important is that you have to achieve things. Take them one step at a time.

As you keep getting one thing after another accomplished, your confidence levels will start boosting vastly. Each time your confidence gets renewed, you will want to take on the next purpose with greater energy. Slowly but steadily, you shall achieve what you have set your heart upon.

Turning Purposes into Achievement – Seeking Goals

“Now you have to act!”

Now, comes the next step. First, you dream. That's your aspiration. Then you sit down and think about how you will be able to fulfill those aspirations. That blueprint, which contains your various milestones, are your purposes. These are the things you need to do. So, what comes after that? Simple – now you have to act!

You have to now convert your purposes into achievement. The good news is that most people who don't achieve what they dream falter at the first step, which is:-

Aspirations --> Purposes

That is because most people dream, but few are moved to do something about it, such as beginning to plan for it. However, if you do reach the initial stage of planning, there's very little chance of you not doing it. Hence, what's important, is to motivate yourself to build the initial plans. Once your blueprint is ready, you will be encouraged to follow it through. Once the machine is set into motion, the motivation keeps on coming. You plan, you act, you achieve.

Since you have set various milestones for bringing your plan to fruition, you aren't going to achieve everything in one big gobble. Anyway, things don't usually happen like that. You are going to swallow one bite at a time. You are going to get one little success at a time. Good enough! Each little success that you get tells you that you can. It tells you that you have come one step closer to getting your dream realized. You move more speedily toward success at the next milestone.

In any accomplishment, it is always the start that's problematic. As things begin materializing, even little things, you see that your energy increases as well. If your aspiration is to have a house, you must start setting yourself various purposes, via milestones. These could be multiple, of course, and you would need to set them according to their priority. Probably one of your first milestones is to speak to a financier about financing options. If you do accomplish that, i.e. if you find a bank that verbally tells you it can give you the mortgage you are looking for, you are definitely motivated to take the next step.

Your momentum increases drastically because now you see your aspiration taking shape. When the next step gets fulfilled, you get a real estate agent who locates a property for you that you like, your speed increases in multiples. It goes on like that, until it begins to seem like you are on a collision course with your target, which is nothing but your aspiration!

“I Came, I Saw, I Conquered”

So we have seen the three important things it takes to materialize any dream or aspiration you have in your life:

- Aspire - Set milestones

- Achieve!

It will be quite unusual that there will be occasions when this system will fail. But, there are definitely times when the whole process can go much faster. One of these ways is when there's an opportunity looming.

Yes, this is a whole different story. Opportunities come knocking at our door. We know all about those clichéd sayings. But these sayings would not have become clichés if they weren't true. However, what we need to remember here is that if we are at the right place and at the right time, things are quite expedited.

"You have to first come‟. This means, you have to be aware of what is happening around you. Keep your eyes peeled. Keep your mind functioning at all times. Know that opportunities come in various shapes and sizes. An email can change your life. The advertisement behind your bus ticket could be the turning point of your life. A phone number carelessly thrown about could be it. The secret is to never denounce anything. Don't let "no‟ be your reflex response to anything. When anything cold calls you, don‟t say "no‟ just out of annoyance. Hear them out. They could have something substantial for you. Hearing doesn't infringe on anything, anyway.

Next, you have to "see‟. This means you have to evaluate what you have just stumbled upon. Do your research. Is this worth it? Ask around. Check on the Internet. There are forums about anything and everything nowadays. Meet those people in person if you think that could help you decide. Involve someone knowledgeable whom you can trust. Without seeing, you must not plunge into anything, relevant or irrelevant.

The ultimate step is to "conquer‟. When everything fits, there's no reason why you shouldn't put all your energy into conquering it. Make the most of what you can. You started with the aspiration of achieving what the opportunity held for you, now you have to unleash your action-driven life upon it to achieve that glory.