That's the answer.
To your unasked question, to everything.

It is direction that causes the change from potential to actual.
So many of us have been cursed with the blessing of "great potential." By the state of the world, you can easily see that few have achieved their potential greatness. The reason for this, besides unfortunate usage of polyester, is that most people do not give themselves enough direction.

Physics dictates that direction allows for greater results. That's why smart lumberjacks use the thin edge of the wedge. To direct their sweaty flannel driven energy to the point on the log where it will have the greatest result. Only those stuck in remedial lumberjacking still hit the log with just a hammer.

Millions of years of evolution and thousands of years of scientific progress have resulted in tremendous egos and overconfidence. "I can do everything!" is the attitude we've developed but it has led to a complete absence of accomplishment. We are unwilling to accept limitations or guidelines or direction perceiving them as restrictions on our freedom. We want to color outside the lines. More to the point, we want to color every damned picture in the book. I guess that's why we want to color outside the lines: we're too busy trying to color everything in sight to take the time to do just one well.

America has always been replete with people full of energy, looking to do as much as they can. For centuries that energy was directed: "fight taxes!" "fight Indians!" "fight Germans!" "fight Communism!" Now we've pretty much run out of ouside concerns to focus on. (We could probably use one if only so the World Wrestling Federation didn't have to resort to billing Canada as our big threat.) No longer driven by external goals and generally unable to come up with substantial internal motivations, we've been left without orientation. We need to concentrate our energy. The universe may be heading towards entropy, but we don't have to aid the process. Using a zoom means you can't see as much as with a wide angle lens, but at least you can make out the difference (slight as it may be) between Uncle Hymen and Aunt Dick.

While I'm living proof that there are an infinite number of ways in which a person can fail, I think that they all break down into a couple catagories. Either not making no effort, or not putting the effort in the right direction. When looking for a job (date), you can make halfhearted efforts, maybe getting up at noon to check out the classifieds. Or you can get busy sending resumes out as fast as you can get the damned things to print. OR, you can figure out what type of job is really right for you, research the companies that are in that field and prove to the best of them that they should hire you.

Ignoring the inevitable bromide that without restrictions, freedom is worthless, direction frees us to ignore the inconsequential so we can concentrate on something long enough to do more than just a half-assed job. It's a bitter pill to swallow at first: you have to relearn the 3 year old's lesson that you're not imnipotent. But this time it's more severe: Not only do you lack omnipotence, most times you're lacking competence as well. Mothers tell their children that when they grow up they'll be able to do anything. Except for my mommy, they were all lying. When we applied for our jobs, we said we were excellent at multitasking and our only problem is that we're perfectionists. Well except for me, we all lied.

If we were all that Mother said and we claimed, we wouldn't be a nation of obese, latchkey parents. (I'm thin and even if I did have kids, I 'work' at home.) We wouldn't be a nation where millions go hungry and homeless while the rest say they want to help but "just don't have the time." We wouldn't spend 50 hours a week doing 30 hours of work, taking on projects we just can't handle (be that a job or a child). We wouldn't spend hours in front of America's Funniest Blows to The Crotch, just because it's on. If we each decided to take five minutes a day to see what direction we're headed and if it's where we want to go, we'd avoid one hell of a lot of wasted time.

Direction is what is supposed to keep essays onto a manageable subject, so they remain interesting and informative without rambling. Obviously it doesn't always work. But the point I'm trying to make is that it can enable us to go through life without wasting energy on things that just cannot be accomplished under the givin parameters. It can be hard to accept, but it's not always a question of the best job you can do, but the best job you can do considering the circumstances. Just face it, you'll never be as cool as me, so you might as well direct your efforts to where your skills are better suited: being nice.