Can we really control what happens to us in the future?
One of my students mentioned the phrase "We are masters of our own destiny" and while I do think there is some truth to this idea I really took a step back to think about it. I don't think we are masters of our destiny as much as I like to think that we are influencers of our own destiny. When you really ponder that phrase it really comes down to the things we can control/have influence over and the things we absolutely cannot control. Destiny is basically just a slurry of decisions we've made combined with things that happen which we cannot control.
Our decisions can have an impact on the outcome of something but there are still factors involved that we cannot control. Take for example a recent incident in this years NBA playoffs where the San Antonio Spurs were about to slaughter the Golden State Warriors. (At this point you have to excuse me as I am an avid fan of the San Antonio Spurs) Zaza Pa-cheapshot Pachulia took it upon himself to close out on Kawhi Leonard and ended up putting him not just out of the game but the whole series.
Now did Kawhi have anything to do with his ankle getting injured? Some may say well he was out on the court so he put himself at risk in the first place. I get that. But he could not control Zaza deciding to run towards him so clumsily and then placing his foot underneath him while shooting. This led to him being put out of the playoffs. Kawhi had no control over what happened to him. The only thing he could control was taking what would become his last shot of the playoffs. I just used this as an example to show that destiny tends to be a mixture of the decisions we make and events that we do not plan to happen.
You be the judge
The choices we decide to make have consequences. Good or bad. We can only control the work we put in but we can't control the outcome. Have you ever worked so hard at creating or doing something only for it to end up going the totally opposite direction than what you had anticipated? Trust me. Everyone has at some point. I get the idea of being a master of our own destiny but I just think that things don't always pan out the way we think due to the myriad of variables that exist in our lives.
Things we can control
- Our efforts
- Who we marry
- Living a meaningful life
- Our thoughts
- What we eat
Things we cannot control
- Who our parents are
- What country we are born in
- The weather
- The past
- The universe
We can influence and be responsible for our destiny but to say that we can control our destiny may be a bit of a stretch. I lean towards the way of being an influencer in how my life plays out. There are only so many choices I can make in my life and other than that, well that is called the will of God.
Do you think we are masters of our destiny? What things can we control? What things can we not control?