Controlling Your Own Destiny

I truly believe that everyone has the ability to control their own destiny, and that where we end up in life and our level of success is in our own hands. Every decision that we make everyday makes up who we are and drives your destiny. In order to achieve great things you have to set realistic goals, and more importantly develop an action plan for achieving those goals. Good things do not just happen to people, success is not an accident, you have to develop a systematic approach as to how you want to achieve something. Then by having a positive frame of mind and relentless attitude those goals can be reached over time.

One of the most important destinies that we all have in common is the different career paths that we are going to take after college. We have all done the necessary preparation to get us here at Syracuse, but now it our choice as to what skills and knowledge we want to leave here with to better prepare ourselves for the real world

Some of the things that we can control while in college are whether we go to class, whether we study for a test or go out with friends, get an internship, and network with people in our field of study. By doing these things we can give ourselves the best chance to have a successful career.

Although we do have control over a destiny as large as a career, we can also control our destinies on a smaller scale as well. For instance, I play lacrosse for Syracuse and we often try to influence the outcome of our games through practice and preparation.

This is done by continuously practicing certain skills and putting yourself in game-like situations at practice, visualizing being successful and doing things that will help your team win the game, as well as, going over a scouting report and becoming familiar with your opponents tendencies. This allows you to counteract an opponent’s strengths, and exploit their weaknesses. Although this does not guarantee that you will win the game, by controlling everything that you can control through preparation, you give your team the best chance of being successful and ultimately winning the game.

“Destiny” often implies a measurable determinant of whether you are successful or not. Such as did you win the game or something as large as getting the job that you wanted, However, controlling your own destiny can also include intangible aspects such as controlling your own happiness on a daily basis. I believe that every morning you are faced with a choice, “Am I going to have a good day or a bad day?” This depends on whether you have a plan for the day, incorporating both tasks that need to be accomplished and fun things that you want to do as well. However, by having an action plan, it allows you to stay focused and achieve more, as well as, allow you save time for activities such as hanging out with friends or exercising. By doing these things you will become one step closer to your ultimate destiny and become happier in the process.

I truly believe that anyone can control their own destiny, by deciding what it is in their life that he or she wants to achieve and by making sure to include the necessary steps for getting there in your everyday routine.