Directing is a verb that expresses an action whose meaning is to guide something towards a goal. You can run all kinds of activities: a company, an army, a country or your own life.
Directing implies that someone has a capacity to lead a project, usually of a collective type. Leadership is a quality of those individuals especially gifted for leadership. In history there have been leaders whose main characteristic has been to lead their people to an end. Alexander the Great, Napoleon or Gandhi are clear examples. They all launched a collective movement and led the masses by force of their natural gift. Running a global project does not mean that the project is positive. This is what has happened to the great dictators of history, people with leadership skills but with perverse ideals.
If someone directs, it is because another or others are directed. They abide by the decisions of the president or chief and can do so for two main reasons: because they believe in the course that is proposed or because of some fear of reprisals for not following orders.
It is clear that in order to correctly direct something, it is necessary to have a clear definition of the direction to take. There is a specific end and to achieve it it is necessary to put in place a series of means. The idea of directing combines these two factors: means and ends. Both must be connected, properly combined so that the desired goal is achieved.
In self-help manuals (also called personal growth manuals) the problem of what a correct direction should be in our lives is frequently addressed. There are very varied recipes, but they coincide in one aspect: the convenience of clearly defining what we want to achieve. It seems something very obvious, although it is clear that it is not easy to manage your own life sensibly, since there are many elements and factors that must be valued.
There are some professions whose basic meaning is to direct one aspect of the lives of others. These professionals (psychologists, consultants, counselors, etc.) help their clients to solve a need. With some techniques and knowledge they are directing a part of the lives of others. Making a play on words, we could say that a psychologist addresses the patient to direct or orient his life.
