Vision - Where Am I going?

Vision and Focus

I believe we all have some idea of the kind of future we want. It may not be perfectly clear, but there is usually a picture somewhere in the mind. A better life. A more meaningful life. A life with peace, stability, growth, purpose, influence, or impact. The question of “Where am I going?” , is not only asking about the future but also whether our present life is moving in a direction that agrees with that future. This is where the talk of vision begins. Vision is not just a dream or a nice picture of what life could become. It is not an idea or imagination influenced by the visible "nice things"the world offers as a reward. Vision is the ability to see an invincible, sometimes impossible destination clearly enough that it begins to influence the decisions of today. It helps you know what deserves your time, what needs to be developed, what should be left alone, and what no longer deserves access to your attention. Without vision, a person's life can be very busy but lacking in direction. They could be doing many things, trying many options, and keeping many doors open, not because they find the experience enjoyable, but it could just be that they are afraid to choose. They remain in the grey area because choosing one direction means letting go of others.

This is one of the biggest traps of today, and many people have fallen and are still falling into it. Even I, was once lured into that trap and still try to constantly remind myself to avoid it. The thought behind it could stem off from an innocent intention: "I do not want to focus too much in one thing because I feel I might miss something in others." So you try to touch everything, follow everything, explore everything, and keep every possibility alive. It may look open-minded at first, but over time, it becomes exhausting. Time is spent. Energy is spent. Resources are spent. Yet nothing is really built with depth. Even the world encourages us to operate in this grey area. On the surface, it sounds so supportive but beneath, it is not as helpful as it may seem. It tells you, "Expand your horizons", "Keep your options open", "Don’t be too closed off, you never know where your blessing may come from", "Your destiny helper can come from anywhere", "Throw your net out; you might catch something good", "Test the waters, see what is a good fit for you". All those statements subtly repeat the same message - Live by chance, not by choice. The truth is if you aim at everything, you eventually hit nothing. What's worst is that, you will start to live your life based on luck or chance. Your life will become a game even when it was not designed to be lived as such. Vision gives direction. Direction demands precision. Precision requires Decision.

Vision and Time

We often talk about time casually, as if it is always available. But time is one of the clearest ways to know where a person is going, because what we give our time to is usually what we keep allowing to shape us. You may have heard sayings such as these: Show me your habits, and I'll show you your future. Tell me what you do every day and I will tell you where you will be in a year. Watch your thoughts, they become your words; Watch your words, they become your actions; Watch your actions, they become your habits; Watch your habits, they become your character; Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. All these sayings highlights that we are not formed by what we suddenly decided. There is a gradual, quiet, continuous process that often takes place subconsciously, and determines the actualization of the vision we carry.

Every day, we are given twenty-four hours. I like to think of them as twenty-four coins. No matter your background, class, education, location, or starting point, each day hands you the same twenty-four coins of time. Of course, people do not all start life with the same money, support, access, resources, or connections. That would be dishonest and unfair to say. However, it is worth noting that the journey is not sustained by what you started with. In fact, the plethora of advantages many may have over others, is squandered as quickly and easily as it was gotten. The journey is sustained by what you do daily with the resource that keeps returning to your hand. One hour is one coin. So the question becomes: what did I buy with it? Did I invest it in growth, rest, discipline, learning, prayer, work, right relationships, health, or reflection? Or did it disappear into distraction, worry, comparison, entertainment, endless scrolling, or things that did not add anything meaningful to the future I see?

This does not mean every hour must be used for work. Rest is necessary. Joy is necessary. Healthy reward is necessary. But we have to be honest about the kind of world we live in. Pleasure and entertainment have become a comfortable prison for many people. At the slightest hint of difficulty, boredom, or strain, they run back into that prison. This happens so often that they no longer notice what it is costing them. In many ways, society validates and keeps reaffirming this behavior. Today, it is a norm to hear that, "whatever does not make you happy is not good for you", and should be abandoned. Happiness has become a drug. In a world that constantly teaches people to chase pleasure, it is easier to turn away from anything that demands patience, discipline, correction, or sacrifice and call it “protecting your peace.” This belief collides with vision, because anything worth building will eventually demand something from you. There is no prize without a price. So if the road to vision seldom produces the emotion of happiness, what happens to a generation trained to run from discomfort?

This is not just a reflection on time management and vision but also, an in-depth thought into the role of society in this process. A person without vision is easier to influence because they have no clear destination to measure their choices against. If society promotes constant pleasure, entertainment, and emotional comfort, then what kind of content will people naturally prioritize? What will they watch, read, listen to, that will replace their original vision? Even social media understands this. You are asked to give consent so the content can become more tailored and personalized to you. But tailored for what purpose? Is it only to show you what is best for you, or does it also reinforce the prison you have already walked into through repeated choices? Still, society cannot take all the blame, because influence does not remove choice. It can pressure the will, but it cannot completely erase it. What influence can do is make the right choice look more costly in the short term. You cannot simply turn away from the status quo or move against the tide without feeling some resistance. There will be pressure. There will be discomfort. There may even be moments where it feels easier to go back. This is why a vision that lasts has to be built on a strong foundation of clear and firm understanding of one's identity, origin, purpose and potential. Without these, you may know the right direction and still lack what it takes to withstand the pressure of what's around you.

Vision built on the right foundation will still need to have the right value for time. I believe perspective contributes to how we perceive time in this context. When time is seen as just a day, it feels long and sometimes endless, like it is waiting for you and I. However, when time is seen as currency, we become more careful about what we are spending it on.

Reflection

I conclude this post by urging you to reflect, as I often do also, on the destination your compass is pointing towards. What is my time producing? What are my habits producing? What are my environments producing? What are my repeated choices producing? What kind of person am I slowly becoming? These are not questions to create fear. They are questions that help us wake up. Many people do not wake up years later, shocked at their lives, because of one big decision. Many times, they drifted there through small choices they never took seriously. Life doesn't just happen to a person with vision. They happen to life😄, because they are consciously making daily decisions that have a destination to answer to. They do not live by what is trendy, entertaining, emotional, or comfortable, but rather, they habitually question whether their choices agree with where they are going. Finally, the future is not only something ahead of us. It is something we become one coin, one choice, and one direction at a time. Drafted by Princess Faith Odo, refined with AI.

Read next

• Beliefs Eventually Become Culture
• How Perception Shapes Intuition
• Belief As The Root Of Perception