Aspirations:

We often have to make decisions and choices about hdw  to spend our time, money and energy. Sometimes  the choices are simple like whether to wear a blue dress or a green one. At other tlmes conflicts may put us in a dilemma,  such as, whether to go to the cinema or to study at home? In other spheres of life, such as marriage, religious beliefs, changing jobs, conflicts may  be  severe and persistent, which may lead to anxiety, or even frustration  We often aspire to be  something or attain some objective or position, but such aspirations or goal may be  limited by  several factors which may relate to the  family, nature of job or place of work, or other social and personal circumstances. A potential source of tension  is a situation when  there is a conflict between two goals. You may want to become an athelete,  at the  same time you may want to attain the maximum marks in your class. For both these activities you must have a lot of  time.

You would have to make a decision. Failure to find a solution or compromise between conflicts can build up to serious psychological or mental disorders. What happens when you are frustrated? You are upset and angry, which may  lead to other types of behaviour that are irrational, unpleasant or abnormal. We shall  look  into these reactions later. But a feeling of frustration is a signal that there  is a problem to be  solved. Usually, the problem is not clearly identified, and the first struggle is to identify  it. One has to search.0ne.s intentions and preferences, and examine where exactly do the  impediments lie. But once we do  that, we can make a realistic decision about our options. It  is through these kinds of experiences  that our mental growth takes place. For example, a student who did not do well in the examination, fails. He is frustrated,  but when he can  identify what was it,  that caused the failure, whether it was other interests  that prevented study, or friends who proved to be a distraction, or if  the teacher didn't  explain well etc., he can try again in a modified situatipn.