The Power of Choice
I don’t believe in fate. To me, fate is something that you cannot change. I believe every person alive has the ability to control their life. I don’t believe that someone’s life is set in stone of how it is determined to be. I don’t believe there’s a superior being responsible for our actions. Human kind has no predetermined fate.
I am a skeptic believer of Christianity and often question God. Is there a heaven? Will I go there? Is god watching over us, when evil encompasses the world when he is able to help? Reflecting, I don’t believe that god, “protects,” us. I believe he gives us opportunities to make decisions. Our decisions effect what happens to us. Good and bad consequences are based upon the outcomes of the choices we make, not what fate has in store for us. In life people face decisions, weigh consequences, and make choices- something fate has no influence on.
I believe I control my own destiny. My football coach said: “There is no such thing as being lucky. Good things happen to those that work hard, guys that are good and work hard catch a break and get a little luck.” What he meant is usually good things happen to good people. People who make smart, safe, good decisions, and weigh possible outcomes are free from surprises. If someone goes through life stealing and gets caught in a flawless plan then it wasn’t his fate, but rather his fault. It wasn’t fate that decided he would get caught on that occasion; it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
Often unfortunate things happen to people who are not prepared. Accidents occur leaving the victim hopeless and in society’s eyes, unlucky. But, after analyzing the situation it could be traced back to a couple bad decisions. These decisions led to those occurrences because of poor judgment, not fate. An example, My car overheated and broke down on a trip to Missoula. It was not god that decided my car would breakdown. It was my fault. I had not checked the engine properly, thus the engine overheated. It was a mishap in many people’s eyes but I’m fully responsible. If more people begin viewing their lives this way putting matters into their own hands, then the world could be a different place.
Ok, maybe a little farfetched. But, I don’t believe in fate. People need to be accountable for their actions and feel responsible for them. Things don’t go wrong because of one action, but because of many. I view outcomes similar to a fork in the road of many crossroads. It wasn’t a wrong turn that determined what happened-it was ongoing. There are many turns in life to be made. You can get back on track if you slipped up previously. Grab life by the horns-take control of it. It’s your life, not fate’s, and the power is yours.