One Apple A Day #618 - Goals and Aspirations
The man in the photo is Tyson Fury, a controversial British boxer and heavyweight world champion. His story is remarkable on many levels. He suffered from mental health issues after reaching the top of the world. He almost killed himself, and then he came back.
You can find plenty of articles and videos online about his story, and as much as I'd like to write about it, I have only 15 minutes to finish this post.
The reason I'm writing about him this morning is a short video about him that I saw yesterday on Instagram. I think it is a short montage of this longer documentary about him (in case you want to watch something different tonight).
"It was all about winning bells and being a champion, but when you've done all of that, what's about you then [...] but if I train every day and I'll stay in shape, then I'll be happy forever."
These words he shared in that video made me think at the difference between having a goal and having an aspiration.
I found the following definitions in an online dictionary.
Goal: the end toward which effort is directed
Aspiration: a strong desire to achieve something high or great
The way I read them, the goal is about the object we want to achieve. The aspiration is about me. Is about the vision I have for myself and my life.
They are both fundamental and connected. To realise my vision, I have to divide it into goals on which I can act. To make my goals meaningful, so I won't fill empty when I get them, they must be aligned with my aspiration.
"While goals can leave us feeling deflated and disappointed once we've achieved them, aspirations are never fully completed; we can get up every morning feeling motivated by them all over again." — from Insight by Tasha Eurich