Masters of Our Own Fates

We are each the masters of our own fates. At least, we are if we choose to be. Some people believe that our lives are determined entirely by the circumstances of our birth. Where we are born, when, how, and to whom all shape our lives significantly, as does our upbringing, but as soon as we become capable of making decisions, we begin to become capable of shaping our destinies.

While our births determine our starting positions, our choices determine where we go from there. Every choice we make is a step in one direction or another. After a lifetime, followed by an eternity, of making choices, we ultimately determine where we end up, regardless of where we started.

Granted, some steps are smaller than others and some choices are harder to make than others, and our starting point can have a profound effect on where we ultimately end up, whether by encouraging us to stay close or by driving us to get far away. Still, we ultimately choose where we end up by choosing which direction we go in from wherever we started. We may be born on a beach, but if we choose to walk inland and uphill, we may ultimately end up on a mountaintop.

They say that fate isn't something we can control, that fate is just something that randomly happens to us, influenced by forces beyond our control. But some of the forces that influence fate are entirely within our control. Every choice we make has an influence on our ultimate fate. Destiny is our decision. If we can master ourselves and our own choices, we can be the masters or our own fates.