Do You Have Some Glue?

Vision is the glue that holds an organization together. On a personal level, it’s also the glue that holds your life together.

Crazy circumstances seem to be the new normal. We’ve all been there, especially over the last few years. It feels like we are being tested daily. But amidst the chaos, one thing remains clear: vision gives you a purpose to hold onto and the focus to get through.

Here are three ways vision is like glue:

1) Vision Gives You Clarity

Holocaust survivor and author Victor Frankl said, “Without a clear purpose any obstacle will send a person in a new direction.” Clarity gives purpose. The clearer the vision is for your future, the more likely you are to get there. On the flip side, the foggier the vision is for your future, the less likely you are to get there.

The goal is to keep ourselves pointed to true north as we navigate through all life’s challenges. Yes, you will get off course at times…that is inevitable. But, if you build guardrails along your life path, they will keep you from driving off a cliff and redirect you back on course to attaining your goals. If you don’t have clarity on the big picture for your life, you need to get one. Check out the book, Living Forward by Michael Hyatt, or author Simon Sinek’s book, Find Your Why to work through a life plan.

2) Vision Gives You Motivation

Vision is the fuel for motivation. It’s hard to get excited about going somewhere when you have no idea where you are going. I coach many people that have felt demotivated and in a funk; it almost always comes back to losing sight of where they want to go. Knowing why you are doing something gives you great motivation. But when you lose your why you lose your way.

You can’t wait for someone or something to motivate you…that is your responsibility. You will never be who you want to be tomorrow if you don’t start being who you want to be today.

3) Vision Gives You Endurance

Scottish Philosopher Thomas Carlyle said, “A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the roughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress on even the smoothest road.” Vision gives you sustainability power. When your vision is compelling, it breeds loyalty.

An aid group in South Africa sent a message to missionary and explorer David Livingston. It said, “Have you found a good road to where you are?” To this, Livingston replied, “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come even if there is no road at all.” Livingston knew how important it was for his team to be people of deep conviction; otherwise, they would have abandoned the mission at the first sign of resistance. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said, “I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.”