Vision without direction is futile

Clemence Machadu Insight
Howdy folks! Today I feel compelled to digress a bit from the policy issues and tackle the issues of vision and direction. Being a member of The Gideons International, I have had the opportunity to visit different streams of life to distribute free Bibles to people who are at critical stages of their lives.

I have been to hotels and motels, army and police camps, fire departments, hospitals and clinics, schools and other areas.
We are often mistaken for men of the cloth, no matter how much we always try to explain that we are just Christian laypeople who are either professionals or businessmen.

In schools, we are, therefore, often asked to first counsel the kids as we will be presenting to them.
And it is an art you have to master.

I just thought of repeating the last message I presented to complement what I wrote about on professionalism last week.
In our blitz to one of the rural schools not long ago, I found myself standing in front of this very poor secondary school where virtually everyone did not have a school uniform.

The school headmaster told me that there was zero pass rate in Mathematics in the previous Zimsec Ordinary Level examinations at this school.
He bemoaned that very few students make it to Form 4 as many drop out to do some communal chores in the village.
I remember standing in front of these students and asking those who do not want to go to university to raise their hands.

Not a single hand was lifted up.
I then asked a few of them, “What is your vision in life?”
Some said they wanted to be doctors, some pilots, some teachers, some managers … all of them had brilliant goals.

Prior to that, the headmaster had said to me, “Motombovatsiura munhu waMwari, havana kana direction vana ivava.”
I remember struggling then to comprehend what he meant by “havana direction”.

But as I began to reminisce on what he had also said about the poor pass rates and the school drop-outs, I came to a certain deduction — a vision with no direction is certainly futile!

And that was the message I told them.
You see, if someone tells you that you have no direction, they are not necessarily saying that you are a hopeless case.

They are rather acknowledging that you have a concrete vision in place, which is good, albeit drifting from the path that is supposed to get you there.

The word “direction” gave me a new and profound meaning that day.
A meaning that still reverberates in my mental faculties to this day.
And here I ask: do you have direction, folks?

If I am to hold a mirror in front of many youths today, they will see themselves trapped in the same situation as that of those students.
A brilliant vision in place, yet no direction.

Folks, without a proper direction, you continue to tread towards a path going nowhere – a garden path, so to speak.
And nowhere is not good, folks.
You see, the students I mentioned wanted to be doctors and so forth.

Just like many graduates who are hanging their certificates on the wall, they have dreams of becoming all moneyed up and stuff.
But it is staying in your path that takes you there, no matter how long it might take.
It is direction, still.

Many have lost their way today and think they should just drown in their sorrows and get a quick high to forget about how rough their drifted path is.

You see, no matter how long it might take you to tread in the direction of your vision, the secret really lies in staying in the path and vigorously advancing towards your goal.

Many organisations today are suffering and are on the brink of collapse because somehow they have lost direction.
The vision is always clearly spelt out and displayed on their walls for all to see.

However, the employees who are supposed to follow the vision will be clueless about where they are supposed to go.
They have lost their way somewhere in the long pilgrimage.

Yes, if you don’t stay with a clear resolve about where you want to go, you will be caught in a moment and become vulnerable to just about anything that passes by.

The corrupt people that we read about in the media have really lost direction.
They found themselves in the middle of nowhere, in a jungle and actually thought they have to be fit to survive.
And where are they now?

Are you really conscious of the path you are travelling in right now?
Are you paying careful attention to the traffic signs in that path?

If you don’t pay particular attention to direction, you will always be lost in your pilgrimage to your vision.
Direction is key!