Dreams and Aspirations

This is an essay I wrote in school - on paper (😲!).

I just felt like posting it because it’s one of the few informal writing exercises in school where I actually wrote what I felt. I’ve just typed out the handwritten stuff and left any errors in the text.

Prompt: Discuss the importance of having dreams and aspirations while also being realistic. If you do not feel dreams and aspirations should be realistic, you may discuss that view instead.

Everyone has dreams for themselves. These dreams might be miles ahead of your current situation, or they might only be small steps. I think it is valuable to have some realistic and other unrealistic aspirations to maximise progress.

Firstly, having two-tiered aspirations helps with planning. As Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Having unrealistic expectations can serve as a guiding star for the realistic, short-term goals. Having specific and realistic However, having specific and realistic goals can serve as a guide on what work needs to be done on daily or even hourly basis. Having broad, unrealistic dreams is of no use without having specific, execulatable plans. that serve as building blocks for the big goal.

Simultaneously, inspiration and motivation are issues where realistic and unrealistic goals also complement each other. Small and realistic goals are often more actionable than big, unrealistic goals. This means that on a day-to-day basis, the goal follower won’t waste time confused about the next step. However, there are also benifits to large gols. As the motto “High-risk, high-reward” states, unrealistic dreams have greater rewards - therefore having greater motivational potentional. To sum up, realistic goals help you stay focused day to day, whereas unrealistic goals help motivate you long-term.

As Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “Only a Sith deals in absolutes”. Similarly, Thanos also believes that “Perfectly balanced. As all things should be”. In real life, having just realistic dreams means that you might run

out of motivation to do things. And having just unrealistic dreams would mean that it would be difficult to doe things on a day-to-day basis, and the small bubbles of joy that come from fullfilling a dream, even a small realistic one, just wouldn’t be there.

To conclude, having a balance between realistic and unrealistic dreams is key to success. The balance helps with planning, motivation, and inspiration toward making progress in real life.