It is Your Decisions, and Not Your Conditions, That Determine Your Destiny

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“It is your decisions, and not your conditions, that determine your destiny.” – Tony Robbins

Even in the century of hoverboards, space exploration, and immersive video games, the idea of fate
still reigns in our consciousness. The assumption that everything in the world is predetermined by
natural or supernatural forces is here to stay after all, according to a study published in Psychological
Science.

Researchers Aaron Kay, Simone Tang, and Stephen Shepherd of Duke University conducted online surveys with 189 participants to gauge people’s belief in fate. Surprisingly, the results showed that when faced with difficult decisions, people still tend to rely on fate. “It exerts a range of positive and negative effects on health, coping, and both action and inaction.”

Fatalism, or the belief that mankind is virtually powerless to pave their own path, is as old as ancient civilizations. This subjugation to fate offers temporary relief when things don’t go our way or when we’re too scared to be held accountable. As the study suggests, people don’t always believe in fate. We only succumb to it when life does not go our way or when we’d rather let ourselves off the hook than make hard decisions. However, it may also cost us our happiness in the long run as we become more passive.

Eleanor Roosevelt states, “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” Some people float through life like drift wood while a few brave souls swim against the current.