Vision Power

Peo­ple can­not be con­trolled. They can be invited, charmed, loved, or taught, but they can­not be con­trolled. The more laws — the larger the pris­ons. Over-control cre­ates under-control. Chaos ensues when petty lim­i­ta­tions close in on a pop­u­la­tion. Peo­ple are made to be free. They can choose to coop­er­ate or not. We also know when we are being treated like herd ani­mals. Noth­ing starts a rev­o­lu­tion faster. Peo­ple are more inclined to die in the name of free­dom than from any other motive.

The body can be put in a cage, but not the human spirit. The imag­i­na­tion can­not be impris­oned. For all of the social bonds imposed on peo­ple by dic­ta­tors, the essence of life some­how con­tin­ues. Peo­ple still fall in love. They find courage. They sac­ri­fice for one another. Grand spir­i­tual hero­ics arise under the grimmest of cir­cum­stances. It is human to tran­scend any out­ward bonds. We are more spirit than body.

It is a les­son worth con­sid­er­ing when you are try­ing to moti­vate your­self. Less than fif­teen per­cent of diets work. I have never seen a col­lege stu­dent suc­ceed in mak­ing him­self or her­self fin­ish a degree for the sake of some­one else. If it does not become a mat­ter of the heart early on, they fail. There are some things that you just can­not make your­self do beyond a cer­tain point. If your spirit is not on board, it will under­mine all of the other ener­gies you try to muster. The first to go is willpower.

Willpower is noble but short-lived. From sheer nerve, you can force your­self to accom­plish an unpleas­ant task. Unless you can adjust to it or find mean­ing in it, then the long-term prospects for it are doomed. On the other hand, noth­ing beats a shared vision. When a com­mu­nity shares it hopes, the sac­ri­fices are greater. The church is the result of a shared expe­ri­ence — the res­ur­rec­tion of Jesus. As a mere project, it would not have lasted six months.

Moti­va­tion is inter­nal. You can­not accom­plish any­thing truly wor­thy by rely­ing on the dreams of oth­ers. Sooner or later you either inter­nal­ize the dream or you run out of steam. Lead­ers that can­not share a vision greater than them­selves never fully make it into the hearts of peo­ple — where all truly great things are accomplished.

So, what is the vision in your heart today that will aim all of your hopes and dreams? Find it and you will find the abil­ity to tran­scend every lim­i­ta­tion imposed upon you.