Setting your Vision and locating your purpose

Tomorrow at mid day I am facilitating a session at one of the High Schools in Harare to their students on Vision and Purpose. These are topics that I believe are very necessary to be introduced at such stage in the development of people. I at times take time to wonder what would be of me today if I had received such insight and teaching at that age. I believe that had I received it the script of my life would have been a different one. I would have done certain things differently, there are certain things I did back then I would have done in a different way or not done at all. There are some people I would have held dear and would have never lost and some people I would have never given the time of day in my life. There are some words I would have never said and some opportunities I would have never taken for granted. All I’m saying is I would have acquired the foresight that is part of the vision making process that would have seen me live my life differently.

I will share what I know about vision, goal setting and purpose. In my first and only book so far, Destined for Greatness, I dedicated a whole chapter on Purpose called Everyone Has It, and another whole chapter on Vision. One can never reach their destiny of greatness and fulfill their calling if they do not have a purpose or if they have no vision.

Every person that was born of a woman on this earth came carrying a purpose and a mission to fulfill. They were assigned by the almighty creator to live for something and be counted for that thing. That thing, that you will be counted for if you do it right is what is called purpose. Purpose is what you ought to live and what you ought to be. Some people make a reasonable success in some areas that might have nothing to do with their purpose and still are not fulfilled. Actually not living your purpose is shortchanging yourself and the world of what could have been if you had located your purpose and lived it. A person working on their purpose finds it easy to stay motivated and need a little or no outside push to work. These are people who make their passion their work; in essence these people find pleasure in what they do and are barely frustrated with their day to day life. What is your purpose? What is the one thing that you would do if you had everything that you needed in life? Your purpose is what you are designed to do. There should be one thing that you know you do not struggle to do, and that thing brings pleasure to you whenever you do it. That is your purpose. Unfortunately a lot of us are adopting other peoples’ purpose and try so hard to make it ours just because we have seen it work or because that is what is expected of us. That should never be the case. Identify your purpose and live it. My next blog will be talking much on how to identify our purpose and live it. One thing for sure is everyone has a purpose and a calling in life.

Once you know your purpose you can then set a vision for your life. Your vision is the blueprint for your life that gives you a picture of your tomorrow today. Vision is usually the difference between success and failure. It is the guide and map to your destiny. In my book I have likened a vision to the plan of a house that is drawn by an architect on paper. The house will always turn out to be what was put on paper. This simply means the architect had to see the house before putting it on paper, and likewise the builders saw the paper and transformed it into a building. You cannot attempt to build what you do not know. You can only be what you are able to see yourself. Like a house planner put your vision on paper so that you are able to follow it and so that other people can also see your vision and run with it. It is your vision only that draws people. It is easy to identify a person with a vision from the next person without it. A person with a vision knows where they are going. Like I said at the beginning had I know about this I would have never lived my life the way I did before. You ought to live your life knowing that you are building towards a destiny. It is your vision that directs you in the path that you should take. Vision tells you what to accept and what to not accept. People without vision have no clear set goals and priorities. These are the people that fall in the trap of majoring the minor. By this I mean that some people have a tendency of putting first the things that should come last. The cart can never go ahead of the horse. In an equal manner there are things that come first in life. Vision tells you what comes first. I will dedicate another blog to the vision making process.

Having known what I know now I desire that every young person gets an opportunity to be taught through the process of locating purpose and setting a vision. This is the only way we can ensure that we build destinies and build people. The greatest mistake we can ever make is leaving things to chance. Unfortunately some people believe life is a matter of luck and chance. To all reading this, especially the young look for people who can help you identify your purpose, set your vision and steer you into the destiny of greatness. Be deliberate about being successful. Seek to succeed. Look for opportunities of growth, growth material such as tapes and books.

By Glen Dhliwayo

glendhliwayo@gmail.com

+263773641749

Glen Dhliwayo is a young leader from Zimbabwe, who is a writer and inspirational speaker. You can contact him for life coaching and personal development sessions with young people. He is a Speaker and facilitator at leadership trainings and has served in leadership at various levels and sectors up to national level. He has trained in Youth Leadership and has certificates in leadership development and counseling, he is also a University undergraduate student, studying for a B.Tech Hons in Engineering.