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How Some of Your Goals Might Be “Aspirational” or Unnecessary

How Some of Your Goals Might Be “Aspirational” or Unnecessary

| September 18, 2019

If you're like most people, you're probably driven and have important goals that you're striving for in life.

Whether it's a home,  family, career, health, etc., we all have things that are important. 

Today, I'm going to talk a little bit about a problem that can occur concurrently with this motivation. 

Source: millionairebefore50.com

We know that being goal-driven is important to our long-term success as individuals.

However, many of us apply this goal-driven mentality to also acquiring possessions and experiences.

Now, normally that's fine as long as we have the means, and it doesn't interrupt other important goals.

However, I have started to observe peoples’ desire to continue adding to their pile of stuff and experiences to the point where it's potentially harming their future.

The overspending that can occur in the never-ending quest for more, more, more can backfire.

Sometimes this manifests as constant home improvement, buying a new car as soon as the old car loan is paid off, buying too much of a house, a second home, or everyday luxuries that are nice but beyond one’s healthy spending ability. 

I thought about how to position this with people who otherwise would be in fine shape if they would be happy with what they have, and stop with the “aspirational goals.”

It seems like calling goals like these “aspirational” frames them in a way that acknowledges that they would be nice, but aren’t mission-critical to a happy and fulfilling life. 

I've practically seen lightbulbs fire up over heads when people realize that these added aspirational goals are going to possibly hurt their more important goals, and that they don't need them.

Whether it's a nicer house, new windows that you don't really need but “want”, or the latest $5,000 couch from Restoration Hardware (I’d say an aspirational brand).

Try to understand that some of your goals might be “aspirational” or unnecessary, and you might just be better off trying to be happy with what you have.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you, too, will be okay!

Tom

 

This article represents opinions of the authors and not those of their firm and are subject to change from time to time, and do not constitute a recommendation to purchase and sale any security nor to engage in any particular investment or legal strategy. The information contained here has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed for accura