How broad are your aspirations in life?

Dave!

Hey folks,

Another "deep" thread coming your way courtesy of yours truely! Enjoy

I was just wondering, when you think about your future, your career, your family, etc., how broad and wide-stretching are your aspirations?
For example, some people spend their whole life wishing they were famous, wishing they were rich, etc, and focus on that goal for years. Perhaps they want to have the public ear so that they can talk about what they find important, perhaps they don't.

Some people are as close to altruistic as is perhaps possible, and they feel so outraged by injustice or poverty in the world that they get involved in charity, and set up programs for alleviating hunger or disease in a particular area. They want to rectify the problems of the world, and this is the way they go about it.

Other people choose to get into political life instead, because they want to affect policy and create change in more far-reaching ways than it's possible to do through charity alone. They join political parties, work their way up to become a minister, and then they have a great amount of power, of course with limitations, to create changes on a national level in areas such as the health service. They might have aspirations to become prime minister, giving them even more power without being limited to one national problem. In some countries they even have the ability to fix problems on an international level, as is the case with the G8 leaders.

Yet there's other people who don't have such extravagant dreams and aspirations, and who don't attempt to save the world, but are content with working a decent job, sometimes in the public sector, and other times in the private sector. They make modest livings, have humble houses, raise loving families, and live out their lives in relative anonymity, save for their family and friends.

Where do you think you fit in in this spectrum of personalities? Do you have dreams of saving the world? Or do you just want a nice house in a quiet suburb, with the luxury of a holiday home your most extravagent target for the future? Do you want to direct everyone's money towards needy causes, or are you happy enough that your own money is going there?

I think most people fall into the last category. Even if they had more far-reaching aspirations than to sustain a loving family, it's not always feasable to achieve these, either because of personal reasons such as an unplanned pregnancy, or because the other routes are often difficult, as well as having many difficulties and disadvantages (eg. being stuck in the public eye for your whole life).

I teeter quite a bit, but I think realistically I, like most people, will fall into the category of raising a family, and working Monday to Friday in the same job for most of my life. If you have dreams other than that, how feasable or realistic do you think it is for you to achieve these?
Thanks for reading, I've been DaveMcG!

Binomate

You are one in six billion. You mean nothing. There is no point to life. Give up. Sums it up for me to be honest.


[edit]

I'd really love to be able to respond to this post seriously, but in all honesty, currently I have absolutely no aspirations in life. I've been trying to picture where I'll be in 10 years time, and absolutely nothing comes to mind. My mind just blanks, every time I try. Since I've just royally fucked up second year of college and can't picture myself doing anything in the area of my course when (or if rather) I finish, I've now begun to wonder why exactly I've been doing the course I'm doing in the first place.

I also wonder why I'm now looking for a job so I can afford to repeat second year, since it's a shit load of cash for someone who's completely broke, and it's not particularly something I want to do at the moment. Doesn't make any sense to me, but it's something to do, and I've nothing better to do. Maybe if I continue my college course and get through it, I might one day aspire to do something with life, but as it stands, my aspirations exist only with in the moment.

Fajitas!

I hope to do a lot. In art college, specialising in photography - have had several exhibitions (Had work being shown in Helsinki last month), been part of a book, two more on the way, published in various newspapers, websites, tourism brochures and other corporate work. Began shooting for a big fashion label. Have enough camera gear to make most jealous.

I can't see where I'll be in ten years though. I guess as long as I'm enjoying it.

Oh, I'm 20 now, for the record.

I aspire to own a better motorbike tham the one I have now. I'm bored with my current one. Aside from that life has little else to offer me at the moment.

tallaght01

I've given up an awful lot in terms of family/social life/relationships in my efforts to save the world. Almost 30 years old now and it's not happened. Too late to salvage what i've given up now, so f*ck it...in for a penny, in for a pound. Might aswell stick at it in the hope that they'll dedicate a paragraph to me in wikipedia some day :P

J.S. Pill

Where do despairing neurotics fit into on that spectrum?? :cool:

SimpleSam06

To crush my enemies, to see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Ruu_Old

I just have to get my device online and it'll be all mine, soon..soon. *rubs hands*

Gave up thinking of money matters sometime ago after travelling and seeing the riches of the world around me. I'm not a person who needs security. I've been helping out in the animal world and conservation as of late. I hope to go abroad and do more in the next few years. I think I've found what I was looking for and would like to continue leaving my mark on the world, however small it may be.

Dooom

Best I can think of is world domination. There was a set back with the badger plan, and I'm now contemplaing kittens. We'll see.

On a serious note though, I haven't really much planned. I'm very materialistic, so my main goal in life is to make a decent chunk of money. Not big on the "leaving my mark" thing, but if I happened across and opportunity to do so I wouldn't turn it down.
Provided there's money involved.

humbert

I just don't want to be bored, don't mind if I'm not successful in a career at 40.

Kojak

My aspiration in life is to win the lotto.

Crucifix

My geniune aspirations are really just to live a nice, enjoyable life.
My daydream aspirations are a little broader though. The beloved rockstar secret agent scientist of the mars colony is what I'm shooting for.

legs11

i want to achieve world demoninaton and wipe out 3.........;)

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Mr. CooL ICE

No real aim in life at all. In college (having ****ed up a few years), not sure if I want to work from that course. Whatever happens, I don't want my parents to be disappointed

CathyMoran

My aspirations in life were to have made a difference for the better in other people's lives...I still hope that I can achieve that. On the broader scale of things I have had to cut back on some of my loftier aspirations such as being a lecturer etc as life has got in the way. I HOPE that I am a good wife and I HOPE that I will be able to be a good mother (if we can have children). My dad said that the thing that he is most proud of is being a good father (and he was and is an amazing father), if I could achieve a similar status I would be happy.

JC 2K3

http://www.intellectualwhores.com/consequences.html

Pigman II

Aspirations = to be wealthly landlord who gets to see the world on your buck whilst you all live in the squalor I provide.

Yep, that'd be pretty sweet.

eamoss

I dont really have a long term plan all of my plans are short term. But anyway here are my plans:
Do my placement in the states.
Get my degree. - 3 more years left
Go traveling.
Maybe get a M.Sc.
Get a decent job. - to get a nice car/house ect
Plant my seed.
Die. :eek:

zuutroy

I'd say at the moment, to become proficient enough on Betfair to be able to make a whack of cash so that I can take a bit of time off from my real job (and also buy a Ferrari 348)

LundiMardi

Well, i was slightly careless in my late teens and very early 20's enjoying my life and built up a slight amount of debt. I'm 23 now and hope to have all that debt paid off in a bout 2 years. That's my aim right now.

Apart from that, i don't care what i do as long as i'm my own boss and live comfortably. The only thing i don't want is to be tied down and work a job i hate for the rest of my life.

Peyton Manning

My aspirations arent anything too extraordinary. Career-wise, I hope to be my own boss in a job related to the degree Im currently studying for. I hope its a job I like too (obviously, or else I wouldnt put up with it). Family wise, I hope to marry the girl Im currently seeing and raise a family in a nice house. We've planned quite a bit, we'd like to have our own children and adopt a child to give them a better life too. I also hope to take a year out after college to travel around the world (cliché I know) but Ive planned it quite a bit (its called my Volkswagen plan - nothing to do with the car, just the VW logo - long story).

projectmayhem

i'd love to be an executive in a company. i love fighting with the "higher ups" where i work (only part-time though) and i usually win... but it's not necessarily a goal of mine. i just want to be comfortable, happy and all that.

or a rock star.

nobodythere

Most people spend their whole lives trying to get as comfortable as possible.

Such a waste. Why not skip that step and just die.

kasm

grasshopa wrote:

Most people spend their whole lives trying to get as comfortable as possible.

Such a waste. Why not skip that step and just die.

Maybe they just want to be able to afford a comfortable coffin?

humbert

grasshopa wrote:

Most people spend their whole lives trying to get as comfortable as possible.

Such a waste. Why not skip that step and just die.

I agree completely. I think it's partly a competition to be as "successful" or more so than one's peers.

zuutroy

grasshopa wrote:

Most people spend their whole lives trying to get as comfortable as possible.

Such a waste. Why not skip that step and just die.

What would you recommend? Striving for a life of discomfort and hardship?

Nephew

My aspirations in life are to marry a traveller and settle down with 8 or 9 kids in a nice caravan. A boy can only dream.

GhostInTheRuins

Nephew wrote:

My aspirations in life are to marry a traveller and settle down with 8 or 9 kids in a nice caravan. A boy can only dream.

If you settled down you wouldn't be a traveler would ya?

As for myself, if you asked me this question a year or 2 back I would have been able to give you a definite answer for where I would see myself in x amount of years. Unfortunately my life has changed so drastically in the past year it's virtually unrecognizable and at the moment I can't really see anything when I try to think of the future :eek:.

Black Swan

Aspirations? Play for pay!

nobodythere

zuutroy wrote:

What would you recommend? Striving for a life of discomfort and hardship?

Greed is the root of comfort. You get comfortable by trampling on others and once you desire it you'll compromise your moral integrity to have it. If that's all there is, it's not worth it.

And we're all guilty of it.

Beruthiel

I aspire to be happy.

foxyboxer

Targets and Goals.

Short term (S) and long term (L) goals.
Financial:
S: Save €50k by the age of 30 - 19th November 2010.
L: Save €100k by age 35 - 19th November 2015
L: Retire on €1m by age 45 - 19th November 2025
S: Save and Invest 60% of all income.
L: Establish a portfolio of assets - stocks, commodities, property by age 30.

Professional:
S: Get Software Testing certification - 31st Aug 07
S: Move to London in an admin role progressing to testing - Dec 07

Personal: Meet a good woman and have 2 kids.
Continue educating myself.
Travel to each continent.

Physical:
S: Complete a marathon.
S: Complete a triathlon
L: Maintain a healthy weight & focus on sound nutrition.

sums it up for me at the moment

Duggy747

My aspirations in life is just to be remembered, no matter what I do (something good obviously) though I'm steering myself to get back into Media again once I finish my last year in college come next May. I want leave a footprint on this life to say that I was here on this planet, don't care about a global scale but to be known across Ireland for my talents (whether they're liked or not, preferably liked but, meh!) would allow me to die a happy man.

I'm all choked up now *sniff*

Jrembin

Finish school and wander aimlessly.

Red Hand

My aspiration is to have an aspiration. Life can be pretty sh*t.

electric69

Finish all my licences.
Then get paid huge amounts of money to fly ppl all over the place.
Work when i want to work
Get out of bed when i want to get out
Love every single second of my work
Get paid loads and have a very comfortable life, and hopefully share it with someone!:D

Fingers crossed!

unreggd

I wanna become a great, well paid photographer

travel all over the shopp [aka world]

meet loads of new people

have some famous friends, and be famous for my photography

then have enough money to take a "personal development year" off, which would consist of me doin all the things I wanna do, with personal trainers, like gettin mega-fit/built, learnin all the ins and outs of a martial arts, goin back and becomin an amazin gymnast, learnin to sing, learning Japanese


I also wanna be as rich as possible, own lots of houses and property, cars, and a helicopter

I think money does bring you happiness, indirectly. Just bein disgustingly rich wont make me happy, but the more money I havem the more choices I have, and possiblities to do what I want to, which will make me happy

branch into other areas of work, such as openin a line of nightclubs around the world

get married and have a big family, also adopt some kids

I never want to retire, but cut back when im gettin on in life, and eventually do some humanitarian work


I know thats loads, and ill prob do none of that, but im not gna reach for the sky, when I can reach for the stars


fin