This prompt feels similar to the commonly debated question “Does fate/destiny exist?”. That question is debatable because it can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. I think that the concepts of fate and destiny are slightly romanticized and almost too rose-tinted to exist in our world. In my opinion, fate is more subconscious than prophetic, it’s a pull from the deepest part of your psyche, reflecting your base desires and the dreams that you cast aside as being “unrealistic”
However, I strongly believe that nothing is coincidental and that everyone has a path. Sometimes we stray slightly from our paths, but we always end up where we are meant to be. That philosophy is what gets me through hard days, and what I use to rationalize unexpected tragedies and reoccurring obstacles. It feels even more relevant today now that my short term goals are coming to fruition, and because I am building the foundation for my long term goals.
I feel like everything that has happened to me, even the smallest events, have had a reverberating effect on my personal development and on my life as a whole. In his speech, Steve Jobs said “you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”. In the past, many things that I experienced felt cruel and random, I felt like I could never catch a break, and that I was always struggling in some way or another.
But what I failed to realize because I couldn't connect the dots at the time, was that these trials were preparing me for what I would have to do in the future. By overcoming these numerous obstacles, I was teaching myself how to be persistent, to persevere, and to have faith that everything would work out one way or another. Because of this, I am very grateful for my struggles. I feel like they’ve taught me extremely valuable lessons, and have forced me to grow and develop in ways that I never thought I could.
Even though I have faith that eventually, I will get to where I’m supposed to be, I have no idea where that is. It’s impossible to know where your path will end – there are so many different events in life that can cause your path to wind and split, lead you to crossroads, dead ends, and many other bumps in the road. But, the point of your path is not to get to the end of it, it’s to enjoy the journey. If I walked through life only focused on getting to one point, I would be missing all of the great things in between.
Additionally, it’s hard to completely control your life. You can try as hard as possible to do so, but things happen. A lot of anxiety comes from focusing on things that you have no control over, and I’ve spent too much time being anxious, it’s gotten old; So, I prefer to simply do what I think will send me in the right direction, to focus on what I can control, and to enjoy the ride.