Do You Think That You Can Shape Your Own Destiny, And How?

[AndrewThan35]

Why/why not?

[Zacs-Master]

To a certain extent. Self respect is a major factor.

[jim360]

Yes, I can. Although so can others, of course.

[DaisyNonna]

Define your terms

[Zacs-Master]

Mm. Interesting Jim. So no outside factors affect your life?

[Zacs-Master]

You can decide to take advantage of a poor education system also.

[sandyRoe]

No. The foundations of your life are built before you're born. If you were born in poverty on a sink estate it's unlikely you'd ever see university and the life chances it offers

[Zacs-Master]

Unlikely but not impossible.

[agchristie]

/// If you were born in poverty on a sink estate it's unlikely you'd ever see university and the life chances it offers///

Massive tuition fees, overqualified and unable to find work?

[Old_Geezer]

I even have some doubts that Free Will (if it could ever be adequately defined) exists at all. So I suspect shaping one's own destiny may be an illusion we are all happy to buy into.

[ludwig]

You haven't got any choice but to shape your own destiny. We're all doing it all the time.

[shoota]

If you are shaping it, it ain't destiny.

[DaisyNonna]

Doesn't stop you from trying to change it.

[jim360]

I thought that's what I'd included by saying "but others can". I can control my own destiny to some extent, in the decisions I make, but the decisions of other will play a huge role too. If I chose to apply for this particular university, or that course, rather than another; as compared to the University's choice to accept me or not.

I don't think then that I, or anyone else, has complete control, but we certainly have some say in our own lives. It's tempered by the decisions of others. I wouldn't like to quantify the balance between my control, and everyone else's, though.

[Zacs-Master]

Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet

[ummmm]

Sandy...you don't need to go to uni to be successful.

[mummybee]

you can try but outside influences can shape your life for better or worse. just look at some people's lives, they have lives that they could not have predicted good and bad.

We all start out with good intentions but just look at the problems you see in the world and in daily life, I don't think anybody has set out to achieve this sort of destiny which would suggest that outside factors contribute more to life than we think.

[jd_1984]

Life is about choices, taking a certain path.
Without hindsight you go with the best option available at the time.
However, some things you can not plan for and then have to adapt/compromise

[ummmm]

In the words of Baz Luhrmann...

"Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much
Or berate yourself either
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's"

[Marshwarble]

Shouldn't the question be "How do shape your free will?"