Brian's World

 I cannot subscribe to the idea of fate. I believe, for the most part, that we make our own conscious decisions that have a large impact on our lives. Certainly, other factors influence what happens to us but we do have free will.  We control what we eat, when we sleep, if we exercise, if we choose to learn, if we work, our morals, who our friends are, and what activities we do. We are all created and come into this world on somewhat unequal terms, but our attitudes ultimately influence what type of people we become. How we choose to individually respond to that does affect us in the end. I don’t call it fate or destiny. To me, that is a defeatist attitude. The term ‘destiny’ seems to indicate that no matter how hard we try, we really have no control over our lives. What would happen if everyone developed this attitude? Why not just sit on the couch all day if it doesn’t change our destiny? Attitude plays a large role in our success or setbacks.

To say that we are powerless to change our fate is nothing short of quitting. Things do happen to us that are beyond our control. Interestingly, they may be a direct result of being beyond our control simply because we made choices not to control things when we had the opportunity. A ripple effect often takes place. With our actions as the result of circumstance, we might be able to inspire others how to potentially behave given a certain situation.  Often, looking to others for inspiration and example is often the very fabric that often holds a society together.  It is up to each and every one of us to attempt to overcome our shortcomings, obstacles, and hardships in order to give others someone to aspire to.

If we want to change things in our lives, the attitude that we subscribe to has nothing short of an incredible influence on us. A positive attitude and optimistic outlook on life can make inspirational differences in our life and the lives of others. I greatly admire people who have shaped their own ‘destiny’ and refuse to give into the idea of their fate being set in stone. I have seen this first hand and love to be around people who don’t accept the idea of being powerless to change for the better. Problems are meant to be solved as well as obstacles overcome. If a person is diagnosed with cancer, should they consider it their destiny to perish from it? ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Remember, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! We cannot accept the idea of ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’! We must make our own ‘fate’ and deal with the cards dealt to us as well as we can.

The fact that we have the option to sit around and do absolutely nothing dispels the notion that we do not have control over aspects of our life.  Our destiny is ultimately undetermined and up to each and every one of us. Circumstances can and will influence what situations we are put in, but our attitude to how we respond to those circumstances may ultimately shape what becomes of us. Author Charles Swindoll wrote an excerpt on ‘Attitude’ in which he talks about its importance and effect. He conveyed that ‘attitude’ is more important than education, money, or circumstance. He looked at attitude as a will to achieve in spite of what challenges that we were faced with.  I have to agree with him saying that we cannot always control what we are faced with but we can control how we attempt to work through it!